True Royals
by WritingEqualsEscape
Summary: Rule #6 to be eligible for Queen: The participant must be a virgin. That one rule meant one thing: Elara Merandus had a problem on her hands.
1. Chapter 1

Elara Merandus stood at the edge of the beach house, the wind rushing through her ash-blond hair, and her hands clutching onto the wood that made the fence that separated her from the large ocean. It seemed to stretch for infinity and beyond, but Elara knew better than that. She knew that somewhere off into the distance, lay more land and more Silvers and Reds. Perhaps another war, or another High House of Whisperers.

Her icy blue eyes were bloodshot from days of restless nights. Her fingers drummed against the wood, wanting to do something, anything. The closest thing to civilization was a Red town. The Stilts is what the name is. But that town is miles away, and nobody dared come on Whisperer's land without permission. The Merandus family was rich, drowning within its own money and resources. Rich and powerful, a brilliant combination. Elara has been staying at her resort for a little less than a year now.

It wasn't like she was needed back in the Royal Palace. Samson was more than capable to take care of any of the Royal Family's whims. King Tiberias Calore and Queen Coriane Jacos. Technically, it should be Calore, but Elara has always known that Coriane was never destined to be Queen. She never was, and never will be. Its always been Elara, Elara should've won it all if Coriane didn't manipulate her way into the King's heart.

Elara hasn't left the house in the ninth month now, except for the occasional stroll. She made sure she had enough food by ordering it through the phone, but other than that, she was completely isolated. Nobody in her family dared come check on ehr, except for the occasional phone call. They knew better than to come and physically _visit her._ Everyone in the Merandus family knew just how skilled Elara's whispers were. How precise her technique was, how easy it was for her to sneak her way into anyone's mind. She would've thrown them out of her home, family or not. Everyone knew when Elara wanted to be alone, since she had always made it very, very clear.

With dawn breaking through the clouds, a vision of a new day engulfing her, Elara knew what she had to do. The knowledge of it has been haunting her for months now, but she was ready.

She needed to get the Crown.

She had too, it was her destiny, plain and simple as that. And nobody can argue against destiny.

But there was one little thing in her way. One little, tiny problem that separated her from her small, empty cottage to a seat as a Queen.

And it wasn't Coriane. No, Coriane was just a pest, she didn't even deserve to be called a problem.

Elara took in a deep breath and walked over to her living room. The house wasn't very small actually. It was twice as big as the biggest homes in the Stilts, but it was puny compared to a place like Summerton. It was tiny.

She picked up what she needed and began to make way for the village. People should be up by now, but not too many. Nobody would mind a lady, in her early twenties, strolling through the village. Nobody would even care.

After all, they are Reds, and Reds don't care about anyone but themselves. Though, then again, that should be the same for all people. Even the Silvers.

As she made way for the Stilts, her arms began to hurt from the weight of so much. She hasn't exercised for the longest time. She would change that the second she made it back to Summerton, and she would begin her plan of dethroning little old Coriane. She didn't deserve the Crown. She didn't practice for hours and hours to perfect her technique. She didn't cry, sweat, and bleed just for the weight of a piece of metal on her head. She didn't do anything to deserve what she has.

But Elara did. Elara did more than enough to deserve it. Her parents made sure of it.

And if fate wasn't going to let her have it, if a little speck of _love_ wouldn't let her have it, Elara would just have to change that.

When she was at the town, finally, she reminded of the one rule that caused her to run away to the little golden retreat for a year. She told herself what was the reason for leaving the place.

 _Rule #6 to be eligible for Queen: The participant must be a virgin._

It was her one fault. Right after Coriane was declared Queen, Elara lost it. Nobody could know, except for one. Well, Elara supposed it was two. And one of them has his memory wiped of that night.

The other one used to sit in her stomach, but now, it was in her hands.

She knew it was risky to keep it alive. She should just kill it, instead of destining her for this fate as... as a Red. Still, Elara couldn't help herself. Killing her own made her sick to her stomach, she only wanted what was best for her and her children. But she came first. Always.

So, when a little girl with golden hair with ash-blond streaks and the iciest blue eyes in the world was found on the side of the path, nobody questioned it. Nobody but a lady who was passing by, and decided to pick her up. And by the time the lady picked the child up, and by the time she brought the girl to her home, the future queen was gone. She left her cottage and put her plan to action.

The only variable in her plan was gone.

Now with the girl gone, Elara could finally have it all.

 **Welcome to True Royals.**

 **Enjoy. :)**

 **Emily**


	2. Chapter 2

**Cassandra**

"Mother, I'm home!" I exclaim as I place my school bag on the ground. I turn my head swiftly to look around for my Mom, half expecting her to come out with freshly baked treats or something. Its been in my nature for as long as I could remember to expect the best of some people, but the worst in others. I don't know, its complicated.

But just like every single day, I walk over to my Mom's bedroom to see her give out a coughing fit. Blood splatters across the sheets, something that was more common than I would like to admit. I keep on thinking that she's going to die, and fear grips my bones, latching on like glue. But she never does, and for that, I will forever be grateful.

"Mother, are you alright?" I ask, the rtorical question echoing through the empty air as she lets out another wheeze. Red blood layers the sheets again and again as she lifts her hand to block me from coming closer.

"I-I don't want to make you sick too." She mumbles as I take out a warm cloth from the bucket sitting by her bed. I don't know what disease she has, or why she even has it to begin with, but apparently, it doesn't hurt that much. Still, it looks painful to be coughing out blood every single day.

"I'm fine, Mother." I tell her and wipe away the dried up blood on her face. I smoothen out the delicate wrinkles on her face and pat her greying brunette hair back. My Mother is beautiful, she always has been and always will be. She has a single picture from when she was a child, an old ID card. Still, with oak wood brown hair, green eye, and soft, delicate features, she was gorgeous.

When she lets out another fit of coughs, spraying more and more blood onto the sheets, I immediately try to wipe it away, but come to no avail. My training flickers inside of my head as I check her table for some medicine. Nobody knows what kind of disease she has, but it doesn't seem contagious. Still, some medicine works, but some only makes it worse. Plus, medicine is expensive now a days, not making it any better for my small, two person family.

"Did you take your pills?" She wheezes as I roll my eyes.

"Yes, I did." I reply. When I was younger, I used to have severely bad heartburn, according to my Mother. The pills worked, and now, I don't have it at all. But despite all my begging to take me off of the daily pills, my Mother refuses and insists on me using them. Precious money wasted, its dwindling down every day.

"Good." She mumbles as her eyes roll to the back of her head. My heart shatters as I continue to feel her pulse. She would just clock out sometimes, for no reason what so ever. I sigh and glance at the bedroom table once again. Lately, its been needles that I've been trying.

I have a good job, better than most people. I'm a fully trained doctor. I finished my apprenticeship at the age of 15, and I finished school when I was 10. I was known as the Stilts Prodigy, and since I have so many patients, my family is getting more and more money. As Reds, me and my Mother might even be able to live well. But there's always the catch.

Sometimes, doctors get drafted into war to help take care of Red soldiers. I'd be happy to help them out, but still, selfishness sometimes gets the better of me. I want to stay home and tend to my Mother, keep her safe and provide her the money we need.

When I realize I'm out of needles, I leave to buy some more. I make the needle liquid, and its from some exotic plants found in the market. I don't really want to go, it being First Friday and all, but when I hear my Mother groan in her sleep, I realize that I have too.

I pick up my cloak to keep me in the shade and begin to make my way though the market, weaving my way through the crowd. One hand clutching my bag full of coins, and the other scrunched into a fist, ready to take a swing to anyone asking for it.

Its hot today, more hot than usual with all the bodies and sweat. A few people recongize me, people who I've operated on in the past. They were sort of scared, having an eighteen year old hold your life in their hands is scary after all, but I'm a professional. Or at least, that's what I'd like to believe.

However, most people don't know me. They're too busy trying to trade and sell and buy.

Once I collect all of my ingrediants, I grin in joy and start walking back home. A sudden cloud wipes over the sun as I put the basket down with my coins and take off my cloak, not needing its shade anymore.

But the very second I do, a foot hits the basket much faster than I can process and a hand scoops up my bag of coins before disappearing in the crowd, a wave of red-brown hair running behind her.

 **Gasp, plot twists. I know right, I'm so lame.**

 **Review. Favourite. Follow. Share.**

 **Emily :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Cassandra**

The second I see the girl run away with my money, my mind acts up before I can do anything else: I chase after her as hard as I can.

"HELP!" I screech, my voice as scratchy as nails on a chalkboard. "THIEF!"

But just as I suspected, nobody comes. A few make way for me to run my heart out, but nobody bothers to come help me. I run harder and harder, as fast as my legs can carry me, but the girl is lost in the crowd. Gone, away from the naked eye. I sigh and stop running, realizing that its useless. My face gets scrunched up as I shake my head again and again, not wanting to believe fate. But its true, all my money from the past week is gone. Stolen right out of my hands. My head falls as I walk back to where I was to collect the ingredients I bought for my mother, but that too disappeared. Everything I just had was gone, my money, my medicine. I put my fists in balls and feel the need to punch something.

What community am I living in? Where people steal right off your nose and take away everything that you have? My hands are threatening to punch a tree or two as I shake my head and walk for home, taking the long route this time though the woods and away from the busy village.

Without medicine or money to weigh me down, I feel as light as a feather. My cloak drags over my shoulders as I wander through the forest, wondering what to tell my Mother. _My weekly paycheck got stolen right under my nose. We probably won't be able to afford food unless I operate within the next day or two._ Not to mention the fact that tomorrow is rent day as well. Usually, I won't mind it, its just a Crown or less. Its only to the 'rich folk' apparently, since we're the only ones who have money to spare. I sigh and keep walking. What kind of village has the people who aren't straving be considered 'rich folk'? As I continue walking, with the branches snapping underneath my toes and my arms swinging by my side, I eventually reach a place I'm not familiar with.

A river. Perhaps some people know this part, since they need to collect water from a stream, but I don't. I typically use the well if my water isn't working, which is quite rare to say the least. Paying the rent means that 70% of the time, your water and electricity will work. I don't know why it doesn't work for the other 30% of the time, maybe some bug in the system, but when it does happen, it certainly isn't the end of the world.

As I continue to rethink my week, my face lights up when I realize that I am getting paid today, by the Barrow family. They're new to my business, but I know Gisa Barrow. Another Stilts Prodigy, people who can do stuff with they're hands or brains are rare here now a days. Gisa told me the other day that she wants to see if anything could help her Father feel 'better'. Considering his condition, with only one lung and no legs, I told her that I could do the best I could. But despite every book I've read about it, there's no true way to make him feel 'better' per say. I continue walking along the way, when suddenly, something sparks my curiosity.

Something sits at the bottom of the river, a light blue plant. It almost blends into the ocean, but its still visible. Still there, bright blue and pretty. I've never seen such a neon colored plant, and I'm sure I've seen all there is. With curiosity within my veins, I roll up my pants and walk into the water before dragging out the plant, which gives after two pulls. Its beautiful, with a neon blue weed-like structure. When I drag it out, it has a certain glow to it, with long, elegant roots. I smile at tuck it in my pocket. Perhaps this can find a home in my house.

 **(What you write when you can't think of a line break)**

"Are you sure you're the right medic?" I hear as I loom over Mr. Barrow, Gisa beside me as she nods, not taking her eyes off of the beautiful cloth that she's creating.

"Yes." Gisa replies before he starts blabbing again.

"You told me that she was young." He continues as I roll my eyes. "You never told me that she was this young."

"Would you like me to operate, or not?" I ask him, my voice bittersweet as he shuts his eyes, but commences.

"Don't hurt him." I hear as I look over to Gisa's sister, Mare. Her hair is dirty river red, with pale tips that I could've sworn that I saw in the past.

"Its my job to heal." I say. "And if I do hurt him, its for his own good."

I put on my gloves and look at his chest. The machine tinkers away at a rhythmic tone as I stare at it for a good minute before taking off my gloves.

"You did nothing!" Mare blabs as I roll my eyes.

"I'm a doctor, not a mechanic." I respond and take out some pills from my box. "I know how to fix bone and skin, not machinery. If he's in pain, this," I hold up the pills. "Will relieve it."

"Thank you so much." Gisa tells me, eyeing her sister with hate as I nod and pull her in for a hug. She's five years younger than me, so I easily wrap her around me. She slips in some money into my hand, a good twentith of a crown.

"No problem." I respond and head for home.

 **(Still can't think of something for a line break)**

I'm halfway down the street when I hear it. The coughing and wheezing that seems to shake the entire world.

My heart clenches as I think to myself the same thing whenever I hear my mother sound as if death is looming over her.

 _She's just sick. Just a little sick. She's fine. She made it before, she'll make it again._

But as I continue chanting that in my head, trying to drown out the horrid noise, it only grows louder and louder until its the only thing I can hear. Her coughing makes me stay up at night, not like she even knows. It gives me nightmares within my nightmares, but it always scares me more than anything, no matter how much it happens. It doesn't take long before I'm dashing home, faster than I've ever ran before, even when I was chasing that crook. My legs pump through the air as I slam the door open and make my way inside.

Blood coats everywhere, from the walls to floor. Fear grips over my heart as I pat her hair down as she continues to cough blood. I scream and look to the table to grab the needles, but the syringes are empty. My heart pounds harder and harder as I race over to the nightstand and shove the door open, making a cut of red blood leak onto the ground and onto her blood. It was then, when realization pops into my mind. Her blood is darker than mine, it looks almost black.

"No." I whisper and come back to my Mom, who's eyes were now more blood shot than ever. What is happening? It was never this bad before! Never!

"No. No. No." I whisper again and pat my Mother's head. "Mom, Mom hang on. Don't do this to me. Hang on!" I scream, but it was as if she was deaf, the only thing left to hear was her coughs and wheezes.

I've diagnosed her long ago, when she first had the symptoms. Its an illness I've never seen, something the world had never seen. Some sort of cancer eating away at her blood, wanting to come out through her mouth. But she always lived through it. Always.

Suddenly, something pricks my stomach as I jump and see the bright blue weed fall out of my pocket. Its sharp leaves prick my skin and make light red blood flow free, but I hardly notice.

It was then, when it struck me. Maybe this might work. A plant nobody's ever seen... It could work.

I took out my knife and cut up a single root before mushing it up until it seemed as if it could be swallowed. I held it in front of my mother to eat, but her coughs made it so that nothing could pass through except for air.

An idea pushes into my brain as I grind up the weed even farther until it seemed like a dust and closed her mouth as she coughed blood onto it. Then, I held the powder to her nose to snort.

And she did, she did and kept coughing as fear wrapped over me once again.

But then, a miracle struck. Her coughing turned into wheezing, and her wheezing became nothing. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she clonked out as I sighed, relieved before hugging the plant that saved her life.

"Thank you." I whispered.

 **Boom.**

 **Review. Favorite. Follow. Share.**

 **Emily**


	4. Chapter 4

**Cassandra**

I wake up the next day jolting awake, cursing myself for falling asleep so easily. My Mother could've died in the precious time that I used to sleep. Died. What's one night of sleep have to do with one life?

Almost immediately, I get up and rush over to my Mother's room only to realize something on my run there.

 _No coughing. No wheezing._

At first, fear grips my heart, pulling me from under. My Mom is usually up at the brink of dawn coughing up a storm, its been that way for as long as I could remember, which was why I've always wanted to be a doctor. To help my Mom get better, and maybe, one day find a cure. I practically slam the door open, ready to start having a full out meltdown for the loss of my only family member.

But to my surprise, my Mom is up. _And not coughing._ Her eyes look clear, and she's trying to get out of bed. She hasn't left for at least three weeks, and that was just to grab something to eat.

"MOM!" I exclaim and rush over to her, my hands wrapping around her's. I notice something else, her hand isn't fragile and dry. It must be because more blood is flowing through, it has to be. I kiss it, pressing my lips against her skin as she sighes.

"I don't know what you gave me, Cass." She tells me. Her throat isn't scratchy or dry. Its just as beautiful as I hear in my dreams. "But it worked. Thank you. So much."

"Thank you, Mom." I whisper and engulf her within my arms, hugging her back. I feel like a little kid again, my body free and young. Before the heartburn, pills, and diseases. I'm no doctor.

I'm just a kid.

 **(You guessed it! I still have no line breaks!)**

I'm happy for the rest of the day, my entire body filled with joy and happiness as I skip around the village, as happy as can be. In this world, there are no bills to pay or any food to buy. I'm surrounded by pure and eternal bliss. I walk around the village, spreading my joy and happiness to the world. When I arrive home late at night, with the clouds dimly clouding the sky and the sun beginning to set, I open the door to see my Mother sweeping up the house.

"MOM!" I shout and grab her hand before helping her down to our couch I bought a year back. "Are you alright?" I ask as she grins at me.

"I feel like I'm twenty again!" She exclaims and stretches. "I feel like a new woman!" Then she wraps her arms around me as I almost squeal in joy. "Thank you so much, Cass."

"Mom..." I say, not wanting the praise. But I embrace it nonetheless and before long, Mom is up again and sweeping as I watch her. I look of signs of illness, from diluted pupils to any sign of blood leaks, but nothing shows. Eventually, she asks me the question I heard from her as long as I could remember.

"Did you take your pills?" She asked when I widen my eyes. She looks at me, scared as if I might fall over with heartburn. "You didn't?"

"Yes, I did!" I tell her matter of factly before picking up my jacket again. "I just need to fix up this man at the inn bar. Give him some medicine, maybe diagnose him. He asked me to come as he worked."

"Be careful, darling." Mom tells me, but I'm already racing outside and rushing towards the bar.

By the time I get there, the light is dim and a few people are wandering outside, drunk out of their minds, making out and whatnot. The inn looms over me, dark and gloomy, but still bright with life and light. So many Reds are here, happy that its Summer. After all, this is when the King comes here to his new residence. However, it does nothing for me, since Kings have their healers to help him. They have no use for a regular, Red doctor. The night sky is comforting above me, and the stars are surrounding me like a vein of light and hope and all that is good in this world. Who cares if I am not Silver blood. If I don't have some power that makes me better, at least I have my Mother, and my own skills as a medic. At least I can live decently.

When I walk inside the bar, it sings with alcohol, but I hardly notice when I see the bartender who requested me. He's sitting down in the corner, an ice pack over his head, groaning.

"Micheal!" I say and rush over to him. A few people glance at me, but nobody truly cares. I take out my kit and pull out some medicine that he needs. Lately, his liver and head has been killing him, so the medicine should help ease the pain. I do some check ups on him once every two weeks, but not that often since he can't afford it. I know he can hardly afford the medicine, but he needs it or else he'll be in constant, blistering pain.

"I got your pills." I tell him and place them beside him. He gives me a toothy smile and whispers something over the loud noises inside of the bar.

"Thank you." He whispers and takes out his money to pay me, but I wave it away.

"I'm fine. Really." I tell him and press the pills into his wrinkly, dry hands. He stares at my kind gesture in disbelief, but I smile at him. I don't know how, but I've grown up with straight teeth. I've always believed that it was my best feature, my smile. Bright and white, teeth straight.

"Thank you, so much, Cass." He whispers and takes a pill, popping it into his mouth. He sighes in content as the pill takes action before I get up and begin to leave. But before I can, I hear someone shout.

"Wait!" I hear and spin around. My blond-gold hair is pinned inside of a bun within the hood of my cloak, and my hands feel delicate and smooth as I tilt my head at the man who shouted for me. He has pale skin and glossy black hair, as well as red-gold eyes that seem to gleam within the light that floods the inn. I smile at him and nod.

"Yes? Do you need any assistance?" I ask. The world feels happy yet again, I feel free and downright good. I could help this man, I could help everyone in the world, no pay. Everything feels good again, everything feels amazing.

"Why did you help that man?" He asked me as I tilt my head.

"Because today is wonderful." I respond and turn to leave. When I escape the inn to the frosty air and crisp night sky, the man only seems to follow.

"But for free? How do you even make a living?" He asked me. He sounds rather accusing as I shrug.

"I have a good job." I respond and gaze at the night sky. "A few pills to a man isn't going to make or break me."

"Ar-Are you a Silver?" He whispered as I shook my head frantically.

"Oh no, of course not." I tell him as he tilts his head.

"Oh." He mumbled. "You just remind me of someone."

"A Silver?" I ask as he nods his head, his hair not moving one inch as I shrug.

"Oh well," I tell him and keep walking before he pushes me again.

"But why are you so generous?" He asks me as I sigh and turn to face him once more.

"If you must know, my Mother has just turned from ill to good." I tell him as he stares at me before I explain it all to him. Her terrible sickness, the worsening of it each and every day. Then, I found the cure and she lived. When I'm done, his face turned, impossibly, more paler than before.

"Wait, you're saying that... That you cured that?" He whispered as I nod.

"And my Mother is as good as new!" I respond and grin. "Its amazing, I-I've never felt so happy."

The boy turned quiet before I begin walking away, figuring the conversation was over before he says something else.

"What's your name?" He whispers as I turn back and respond.

"Cassandra Englanes." I tell him, figuring he just wanted to memorize it in case he wanted to come to me for a check up.

"Cassandra Englanes." He whispered and walked back into the shop.

I skip on the home and fall to sleep relaxed and happy. Never feeling more content and satisfied in my life.

Until, of course, the day comes, waking me up at the brink of dawn with a loud banging on the door.

 **(This. Is. A. Line. Break.)**

 **YAYYYY! THIS BOOK HAS THREE REVIEWS!**

 **Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! I love reading all the encouragement, it seriously motivates me to write more and more.**

 **Vote. Comment. Follow. Share.**

 **Emily :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Cassandra**

I sligthly open my eyes and blink at the horribly bright light that floods through my window as the knocking persists, unable to die down. My breathing heaves as I rub my eyes and quickly get up from my bed. It must be some sort of person who needs some medical attention, but when I glance at the sun, which is down, red as dawn, I think not.

I'm pick up my pills and swallow down some water to wash them down as the knocking persists, getting louder and louder. _Whoa, someone needs help..._ I think to myself as I stretch and walk over to the front door. I flatten my tangled up ash-blond and gold hair down before opening the door, wanting to look presentable. But who I find on the other side aren't some village kids who broke an arm or leg.

 _They're guards. Six of them._

 _Silver guards._

I widen my eyes at them. Sometimes, we do have sercurity searches, it happens more often than I typically admit. But they don't knock down our door like others, not because its bolted too tightly, but because we're a slightly respected family. Slightly. Not nearly as respected as some poor Silver, if there even is one, but still respected. I open my mouth to say the words I repeat every time they come.

"We submit to search and seizure." I mumble, but instead of them barging into my house, ripping my well organized home to search for weapons and the works only to find syringes and other medical equiptment, they stay still and calm. The one in the center steps forward and says the words that makes my heart stop.

"Cassandra Englanes," He speaks, his voice low and intimidating. It was then, when I notice that these are not the normal guards I always see around the Stilts Town. They wear basic clothes, normal clothes. Not like these guys, they have outfits that make them look like fire themselves. They look more scarier and more intimidating than I'll ever be in my life. "You are hereby summoned to Summerton." He speaks as I stare at him for half a second.

I've never been to Summerton, not once at all. Not because I can't afford the stuff, but because I've never been needed there. The Silvers have no need for a Red medic when they have their healers. I heard its marvelous through, big and glamorous like the rest of the Silver lifestyle, but I enjoy to just never think of it at all. I'm worried if I do, I'll think of my home as lame and boring, like my town will never be as good as it. And it won't be, but the entire point is just to not think about it in the first place. Set your expectations low, that way, you can't feel disappointment every time you look at your life. I live well for a Red, and I'm happy like that. But if I even dare glance at the basic Silver lifestyle, it'll end disastrously with me thinking that my life will never be as good. Never as glamorous.

"Proceed." The guard says as I gulp and nod, only slightly. But on the inside, my mind is swirling. I'm going to war, to help out my Red brotheren. I'm going to never see my Mother again, because this war is never going to end. I'm going to die helping people, die without my family. Die without my Mother, even after I just saved her. My life was suppose to be happy, me saving her was suppose to be my happily ever after. But that's never going to happen I suppose. Never.

I take the first step of my journey before a guard places his hand on my shoulder. Its feels like metal, not like a human. Not at all like a red. The metal feels like its shifting to fit my shoulder when I remember something from my schooling. _A magnetron. This man can mend and control metal. He can kill me._

"Bring your medical supplies first." He tells me as I look down. Of course he does, he doesn't care about providing me with stuff like that. He wants to use my own stuff to help my people, why give us actual stuff. I suppose that this is actually a raise for the Red Soldiers, a gift of a talented, young, fully graduated doctor who will last for many, many years. But not enough years that this war will be over.

"Yes." I whisper and turn back before bumping into my Mother.

"What's happening?" She whispers as I don't answer her. She knows, I can hear it by the way worry wraps around her throat like a snake. I keep rushing for my bedroom, where I keep all my medical supplies. I take my stuff which is packed neatly, trying to relish every second I had left, but hurrying, figuring the guards didn't want me to take too long. They seem so important, too important. Did they get new uniforms or something?

I grab my pills at the last second and shove them into my pocket, realizing that there's only two left. I guess I'll die of heartburn before old age can get the better of me.

By the time I'm walking back to the doorway, I notice the plant that saved my Mother's life and take it. A little souvenior, a last memory that'll turn into rot just like the rest of me.

When I reach the door again, the guards didn't move one bit. I bite my lip as my Mother wraps her arms around me, knowing what's going to happen.

"I love you, Cassandra." She whispers, saying my full name as I throw back the tears and try to stay strong as I hug her back.

"I love you too." I mumble back before the guard touches my shoulder again. I want to kick and scream at him, not wanting to go. I want to kick him and run away with my Mother, never being seen again. But instead, I let go of my Mother. The last time I'll ever see her and her beautiful face. I let out a loud exhale and try not to sob as I follow the guards into the vechile.

I look back. But it fades away, not because its too far, but because my tears are fogging up the life I left.

 **(This. Is. Another. Line. Break.)**

Its such a short drive to Summerton, shorter than I'd like to believe. I expect to be shipped off into some cart on a railroad for my destination of War, but for some reason, I'm still stuck inside of the automobile. I've rode in one in the past, when a Silver needed healing and had no Healer nearby. I remember his Silver blood staining my shirt and how he gave me a full half-Crown. The most I've ever been payed for an operation, but it was more on the fact that he never wanted me to speak that a Red out of everyone, saved his life.

When I finally stop crying, we exit the automobile when I notice that I'm not by some random railroad, but in the Hall of the Sun. Its bigger than I imagine, but I pay no attention to the details. I can't ogre the place, I need my expectations to be low. They'll be sending me to war soon enough, I don't need to be amazed right now or ever. Three guards get out and then I'm shoved out. Three flaming guards trail behind me, forming a protective shield as I start walking. I'm not able to move around anywhere else, and I'm not able to look at the building and its amazing structure. But despite the heavy footsteps of the guards, I can still hear something else. Whispering of Silvers, I have no doubt with that.

 _"Is that... That a Red?"_

 _"What is_ she _doing, being flanked by Senitals?"_

 _"What is this Red Rat doing at the Hall of the Sun?"_

My cheeks flush in embarassment at the way they call me. With so much disgust and disgrace, as if I'm just... just worst than them. And perhaps I am, perhaps I'll always just be worst then them. And I am. But at least I know why these guards are dressed so fancily and so elegantly. Why they look so intimidating. Because that's their job, they're Senitals for God's sake, of course they should look intimidating.

After following their little baracade for a few minutes, I think about talking. About asking them where I'm going, but instead, I keep my mouth shut. I'm wise when it comes to this kind of thing, I know what I'm doing. I've been around patients who didn't like talking for longer than I've ever imagined, I know what to do. After what feels like hours, I end up in a room which feels bigger than my entire house. In it, a dress is placed on it, simple, but much more elegant and expensive than my entire wardrobe. Its graced with silk and weaved with lace, with what seems like jewels dripping down from the bottom. There's also soft, white socks, and black shoes so shiny, I can see my reflection in them. A hair band is there, and a long, red piece of silk is around the dress, signalling the color of my blood. Still, it looks more exquistite than anything Red Servents wear.

"Put it on." They tell me as I stare them, finally putting my foot down. I need answers, now.

"Why?" I ask softly and when nobody answers, I grow an ounce bit more enraged. When my patients come to me, they tell me why. These people aren't even telling me why. "I need to know why." I repeat and receive my answer from someone else entirely.

"Because you need to operate on my Father."

Its the boy from the bar, hair as shiny as ever and eyes the color of heated metal.

 **(These line breaks are getting really annoying, aren't they?)**

 **Whoa... Plot twist. I know right, you neeeevvveeer saw that coming. (Ignore the sarcasm in that sentence)**

 **Anyways, whoa, I actually updated again! This is a new record, I'm going to have to keep track of all this.**

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 **Emily :P**


	6. Chapter 6

**Cassandra**

I stare at the boy, no, the young man in front of me. He's not dressed like how he was last night, with basic clothes, but the glossy black hair still stands along with his eyes. He wears fancy clothes, fancier than I've seen in my entire life, and I saw what Gisa Barrow can do. Red velvet drains my eyes, along with silk and leather. I gulp and stare at him, wondering why he's dressing so fancily and what the hell he's doing here.

"Cassandra Englanes." He whispers as I stare at him, biting my bottom lip before he takes a step towards me. Does he wear all that clothes every day, or is this day just special? And if so, why? "I need your help."

"Who are you?" I ask him, not caring about anything he was going to say, but answers. He stares at me as I take a step forward. Its suppose to seem threatening, but its not, really. Why would anyone ever be worried about a Red after all?

"My name, is Prince Tiberias Calore." He tells me as I give him a slight smile. I can't help it, this is more surprising. Maybe I should be kneeling, begging him not to send me to war, but at the moment, I didn't really care.

"So I met a Prince." I say and press my finger against my chin. "So, tell me, your Majesty, why would you need a simple Red to help your Father. I thought you Silvers had, I don't know, Skin Healers?"

Perhaps I just made the worst decision in my life, but I'm in a playful mood. I feel oddly giddy being in front of a Royal, and like nothing else matters anymore. Besides, he can't kill me. He needs me.

"That's the thing, Englanes." He whispers. "The Healers can't heal my Father." He lets our a harsh exhale as I stare at him. The healers should be able to do everything I do, and more. That's... That's impossible.

"What I'm telling you is a secret... If you dare speak a word of it-"

"What, you'll kill me?" I respond, not using my head to think. "I thought you needed me."

But instead of yelling harshly at me, the Prince's cheek twitches, almost into a smile as he rakes his hand through his jet black hair, messing it up. But the smile quickly fades.

"My Father is dying. Your King is dying." He whispers. "It happened to my Grandfather, the late King Tiberias Calore Fifth. He had a terrible cancer through his blood, and it killed him. I think it may run through the blood, and the Healers can't heal it." He lets out a sharp exhale before continuing.

"Your Mother... What you descibed to me is the exact symptoms that he has. You can heal him, you'll be a hero. A Red Hero."

I quirk my head at him and look down at the floor before asking the question that's been on my mind for a while. "But what's in it for me? What do I get for saving your Father?"

"The pride of healing your King is not enough?" He accused as I roll my eyes before he continued.

"If you heal my Father... And save his life, then you'll be given enough crowns for your family's next generations. You will accomplish more than most Reds in their life."

"Deal." I whisper. The words leave my lips before I can consider it. Of course I would say that, after all, its money. I'll be rich for the rest of my life. "Deal, my Prince." His lip twitches yet again. Almost a smile.

Almost.

"Just call me Cal."

 **(I have no more jokes with line breaks)**

 **Whoa, intense stuff right there... I guess. I think this doesn't making any sense to people who haven't read Cruel Crown... So read it if you didn't. Or don't, I don't really control you.**

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 **Emily :O**


	7. Chapter 7

**Cassandra**

I place my hand over the King's head, checking his temperature as he lets out a cough of deep silver blood. It squirts across the already blood laced sheets. Nobody else is in the room, not even the Sentinels. Apparently, the King can defend himself, even at this state. He can defend himself against a puny Red at least.

I mush up the plant I gave to my Mother into a fine powder, the root looking a little rotten. I just hope it still works, or else the boy, the Prince, Cal, will have my head.

"Snort this, please." I mumble as the King lets out a sharp cough.

"What's your name?" He mumbled as I stare at his eyes. He has the same eyes as his son. The exact same eyes.

"Cassandra Englanes." I respond and hold the powder to him again. "Now, please, snort this powder."

The dress feels uncomfortable, I've never worn one before. Its always been tights, jeans, and a loose shirt. The only thing that ever came close was an apron, but that was a medical one. He does as I requests and takes the powder into his nose. When its all gone, he lets out a sigh and shivers.

But somehow, he still finds the energy to look at me. Before I can attempt to stop him, his hand is hovering over my cheek. I flinch and feel the tough heat biting into my cheek, almost burning me, but not quite. Somehow, it almost feels relaxing, like a soft, warm blanket is enfolding me. My hair feels strained, too tight around everywhere. My gold and ash-blond streaks are folded into a bun, showing off my chestnut brown hair underneath.

"You look like her." He mumbles as my hands begin to shake. His eyes roll to the back of his head as sleep takes him over. But before he does leave me, he whispers something else.

"Just like her. The spinning image of my wife."

And for some reason, that sentence makes me tense.

When I leave the King's bedroom, I see two boys. One of them is Cal, but the other is just like him, with jet black hair, but his eyes are different, yet I saw them before. Icy blue. It was then, when I realize why I thought that those eyes seemed familiar.

They're the same eyes as mine.

He stares at my eyes for a second before I dart my eyes away and shake my hair. I let my hair down after I gave the King his medicine, and now, this tingling feeling feels like its grabbing my skull. The ash-blond and gold rises to the top once again, concealing the brown just like every blond girl.

"Your Father should be fine." I mumble as Cal speaks.

"Thank you."

"Will he be ready by the Queenstrial?" The other, slim boy asks me as I raise my head. For some reason, he flinches when I stare into his icy blue eyes yet again. Flinches. He has more power than me, though. He has everything better than me, yet he still flinches at my glare.

"Depends, when is it?" I ask before another voice interferes.

"At four." It says as I turn to see yet another pair of icy blue eyes.

In my village, I was a rarity. Blue eyes that seemed so beautiful, so elegant, that it lit up the rest of my face. It was my main feature, my only feature. But now that I'm surrounded by so many people that have their own pair, I'm beginning to feel less and less special.

"My husband will be ready by that time." Not a question, a statement. I stare at her and nod, not wanting to make her mad. For some reason, power seems to radiant off of her, and I don't dare step a toe out of line.

Nobody speaks for a moment as the lady, the Queen, walks by us. So that is why the King told me I looked like her. We have the same ash-blond hair and icy blue eyes, but that's where the similarities stop.

The Queen had a pointed smile and skin so pale, she resembled a ghost. But I still have some baby fat in my face, giving me a heart shaped face and a soft smile with small dimples. Her hair is smooth and graceful, while I can hardly do anything with mine.

She passes by me, nobody daring to speak. Not even the Prince. But right as she's about to pass us, she grabs my arm and scrapes her long, pointed nail through my flesh.

I don't scream, I've been through worse pain when I was learning how to use a scarper-on myself. My blood, red as dawn, leaks onto the floor as I don't dare cut away. After a second of looking at my blood, the Queen does something unexpected.

She let's out an exhale… As if… As if she was surprised?

"Red." She whispered and walked away, rounding the corner and fading away.

 **I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! Thank you so much you guys/girls, you all make my day!**

 **Emily**


	8. Chapter 8

**Cassandra**

The King heals much faster than my Mother, mostly because he hasn't been as sick for as long as her. He easily wakes up at 2, startled and fine. Lots of Healers from what they call House Skonos surrounded him, but he shooed them away with nothing more than a quirking finger. But he still didn't get up.

Instead, he requested for someone.

Me.

"Tiberias Calore The Sixth, King of Norta, Flame of the North, requests you." A sentinel tells me. I'm stuck in my room, stripped of that annoying dress and clothes. It wasn't at all comfortable, but it seemed expensive. I suppose money can't buy everything.

I want to groan and throw a tantrum, but one glare at the Sentinel and I know that he'd never allow that. I can't even see his eyes through that thick, metal mask. It was then, when I truly noticed how intimidating the Sentinels truly are. Just one glance makes me chill to my bones.

So, I grab my dress to put it on when he speaks yet again.

"Now." The word is so simple, yet holds so much power over me, that it makes me flinch. I instantly follow him and travel towards the King's room. The halls seem to twist around me, there are too many of them. How can this man memorize them all? I feel like that's his greatest talent, but in my heart, I know that he can do much more than just guide people through a palace.

When I enter the King's room, I expect the Sentinel to come with me. But instead, he stands outside. In fact, nobody is in here. Again.

I feel uncomfortable standing here with the King, alone at least. I feel like he can do anything to me, and nobody can be my witness. I shift uncomfortably in my spot by the door before I see a hand. It's raised and slightly chubby. Like an old man's hand, but I know he's much more than that.

"Come." He says, despite the fact that he can also come to me. I know he can, once I reach him, his cheeks are flushed white. I stare at his eyes, the same eyes as Cal. It makes me feel calmer, not as horrified. Just pretend you're talking to Cal, just pretend that its him. But how is that any better than this man?

The second he sees my face, he literally grabs my cheek. Well, cradles it, but underneath the heat of his hand, it makes the soft gesture much too intense. I flinch at the feeling, but either he doesn't notice, or he doesn't care.

"Who are you?" He asks me as I wonder if he has short term memory loss.

"Cassandra-" I start, but he cuts me off.

"Not your name. Who. Are. You." He asks yet again as I try to avoid his eyes now. Maybe it wasn't the right idea to stare at him in the eye, maybe he thought that I was challenging his authority.

"My Mother is Penny Englanes, and my Father is a man who went to war and never came back." I gulp at that before continuing. "When I was three, my Mother caught the same disease as you. I made a pledge to myself to heal her no matter what. So, I worked harder in school, and graduated when I was ten. When I was thirteen, I was a fully fledged doctor. Two days ago, I found a herb that healed my Mother, and then, I was at a bar and met someone who told me that the King needed it." I shrug at my life story. But when I attempt to look into the King's eyes again, I find that they're already drilling into my own.

"A prodigy." He says and sits up, making to attempt to stop touching me. I feel strange, he's touching me in the way he touches Silvers. As if he thinks I'm one. "You are a prodigy, even among Silvers."

There it is. That line. Those words that spread us apart. Silver and Red. Powerful and weak. The Great Divide.

On that note, he clapped and Senitals flooded into the room. They all stare at me, ready to attack me and kill me if they must. But before they can do anything, The King speaks up.

"I want Englanes dressed up." He spoke, his voice loud and clear. "I want her to sit by me in the Queenstrial. I want her to look as if she is a valuable member of the Royal Court."

As if. I'm not, everyone knows that. But as if.

By then the Queen and her two sons are in the room, no doubtably with the same intentions as the Senitals. I don't want to watch the 'Queenstrial' or whatever the hell that is. Its sure to be boring and I don't belong there. The second the Queen pops in, she looks at me, her gaze getting caught in mine, before she looks back at the King.

"A Red?" She whispered at the King. "You're telling me that you want a Red sitting with us? Do you know how… how disgraceful that is? Do you-"

"My decision is final." He speaks, silencing his wife. "Broadcast it on every screen in every Red Town. Make sure they see that a Red is with me. Make sure that they see how important Reds are. Perhaps that'll silence this little Rebellion. We can help make them believe that they are vital."

A puppet. A figurehead. That's all I am.

Before I can disagree, or even ask questions. What about a Rebellion? What do they mean about all this? But they drag me away, probably to get me dressed up. When I pass by the rest of the Royal Family, the Queen stares at me with hate lingering in her icy blue eyes, while the sons stare at me in confusion.

I leave the room hearing one last conversation from the two.

"Why?" I hear. Cal. "Why her?"

"Because…" The King replies, but I'm too far away for him to finish.

~000~

 **UPDATED!**

 **Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! Is it wrong to ask for another? Lol**

 **Emily**


	9. Chapter 9

**Cassandra**

The Queenstrial is boring. I've learned that now.

Its basically a fashion show, broadcasting me as the main audience. The funny thing is, I stand next to Cal. I don't know if he requested it that way, or if its just a coincidence, but I'm grateful. Finally, someone to talk to, despite the fact that he's not who I once believed. But I quickly realize that that's not the case when Cal doesn't speak a word to me.

"Any idea why I'm here?" I whisper to him as some girl shows off how strong she is. Not very strong actually, I've seen stronger in an arena. It sure does look cool, but she's always staring at Cal. When she breaks her gaze as she whips another statue's head off, her eyes turn to me. And they don't look very friendly anymore. In fact, she kind of stares at me as if I'm stealing her show. Her performance.

In fact, each and everyone of the girls trying out are always glancing my way. Wondering why the hell I'm here and why. Something inside of me shutters as I squeeze my eyes shut. My pills. I'm suppose to take them every two hours, just to be safe, and I ran out four hours ago. How long will this go on for? I need to get home to receive more.

My heart clenches and releases, and I'm slightly worried that I'll fall onto the platform. My hands begin to shake as it goes on for longer and longer. Everything hurts, my cheeks are blaring in pain through the heat of the electricity shield. Just like the heat of the King's hand. The heat is making my blood rush faster and faster, its making my heart pound, thumping until it feels like its going to pound out of my chest. Right when this girl, Evangeline Samos, is about to take the stage, I feel like my Mother was right all along. Heartburn, I do have it. Why else is my chest feeling like its on fire. My entire face is flushed Red when I feel something engulf my hand. A burning hand. I want to tug away and go to sleep. I feel so tired, and hot.

"Are you alright?" Cal asks me as I run my hand through my ash-blond hair. Everything feels like its spinning, and my hands are twitching sweat runs down my forehead.

I'm a doctor, and I can only say that its too hot. My heart is taking on too much, taking in too much blood. Too much of everything.

"Just… Just kind of hot." I mumble back as he stares at me for a moment as if I just grew another head.

"You seem pale." He replies as I shiver. My head hurts harshly, everything is blurring together. I can hardly focus on anything. My mind, usually sharper than any sword, feels dull. I can't hear anything. I can't think. My head pounds harder and harder as my heart wrenches in a terrible burst of fire. Cal's hand is still over mine, and that's all I can feel. The heat of his hand is growing too much, even though I'm convinced that it hasn't changed. My body feels crisp, burning up. I'm too weak to tell him that I even don't want his tiny gestures of kindness. He's too hot. Burning me up like a crisp.

Suddenly, a sound evades my eardrums. I can see again, and the sound is of a girl screaming. I turn my head to see a line of red-brown. At first, I think its Gisa, but her hair is brighter red. This girl isn't Gisa. She's someone else entirely.

I barely notice the paleness of my own skin and the fact that everything feels dead. Then, all of a sudden, this sudden ripple of something courses through me. It happens faster than I can process.

Electricity.

I scream, my voice rattling the world as I collaspe onto the ground, my entire body shaking. It was then, when my thoughts decide to combine, swirling together.

They won't care. With the Red Girl dead, I'm nothing. I'll always be nothing. Nothing at all.

But instead of that, I scream again, this time just out of pure dread. The pain feels like its fading, but I still feel dead on the inside. People are screaming, not because of me probably. Nobody cares about me. Then, all of a sudden, I hear someone's voice. The King.

"What are you?" He asks as I let out another scream, this time of pain. I feel some sort of warmth warming my body, and I think it's the Calore family's hands. Engulfing me with their warmth. "What are you?" He repeats as I finally will myself to open my eyes to see a sight that makes me faint.

My dress is cut open, right at my arm. The sleeves are burnt to a crisp, and there's a deep wound within. But what really makes me faint is what's coming out of the wound.

Silver blood.

 **Thank you so much for the amazing reviews! They keep on making me smile! :)**

 **Emily**


	10. Chapter 10

**Cassandra**

My eyes flutter open in a flurry as I instantly get up, my breathing rapid and harsh as I look around. But my vision is still blurry, not very exact as before. I rub my eyes, trying to get rid of the crust. Another day of operations, another day of life.

But when I open my eyes once again, I'm not in my room. I'm not on my bed in the Stilts. No, I'm in a much fancier room, with a large, extravagant window to my left and pale white walls surrounding me. There's a dress in front of me, as well as a full length mirror to my left. I stare at the room in confusion before pressing my left hand against the bed, lifting me up.

A spark of pain blasts into my senses as I let out a sharp scream and memories flood my senses. The Queenstrial, the girl falling into the lightening. The headache, the heartburn.

The Silver Blood leaking from me.

I instantly grab my arm and look at where it was patched up. Perhaps it was just a dream, I wasn't well and I thought that I had Silver blood. Maybe… Maybe its was all just a bad dream.

The wrapping around my arm is terribly done, I could've done it so much better. I wince in pain as I unwrap it, only to confirm my beliefs. Dried up Silver blood is layered harshly over a burned over layer of my skin. Its healing, yeah, but its tingling with the aftershock of pain.

My heart hurts as I run over to the mirror to look at me. Maybe all of this is just a bad dream, and I'm going to wake up any second now. But when I look into the mirror, I know that this can't be a dream.

All my life, people always told me that I looked funny. I don't blame them, my skin is too pale to belong in the Stilts. The Red flush never truly showed that well. My bones were too long, too agile, like a bird's. I looked like nobody else in the Stilts, the small dabs of colour in myself would hardly appear.

When I look at myself in the mirror, my skin is a ghostly white, pale and fair. The ash-blond streaks are at the top of my head, over the layered gold which all stand over the brown. Most people think that my hair looks beautiful, but I always thought it didn't match anything about me. I felt like a ghost, but somehow, I also felt right.

But the mirror scared me. Looking at myself in that mirror made me shiver and want to run away from my own reflection. Still, somehow, I could still stand in front of the mirror, facing myself. A light blue coated my white skin, which looked more natural than a light red. This is why I never truly belonged in the Stilts-Because I am not like them.

Suddenly, the door opens, making me up. I turn to see the Senitals once again. If they are surprised about me, then they don't show it. Instead, they speak a single sentence.

"King Tiberias Calore, would like to see you." He says as I nod and follow him. I note my clothes, A simple white silk dress that's long in the back and short in the front. I blink and realize that someone must've changed me. They must have in order for me to have different clothes. A single, black ribbon is wrapped around my waist, hugging my body and showing off my curves. You know… if I had any.

I have a stick body figure, like a child. No curves, and just an ounce of body fat laced over my cheeks which are much to stubborn to just leave. I don't under eat or anything, I just can't get fat, just like my Mother.

My Mother… Her blood is Red, I saw it every day ever since I was three. Does this mean my Father was a Silver?

Questions spin in my brain when I reach the Throne Room. I pay no attention to any of the decorations as the Sentinel opens the door and I step inside before the door immediately shuts. When I glance up at the Royal Family, I can't help but feel intimidated.

"Cassandra Englanes." I hear and flicker my eyes up at the King. He doesn't seem as kind and loving as when he was requesting for me. Perhaps that was all an act. And by probably, I mean I'm 99.9% sure that it was.

"You were born with Red blood. Yet, now, somehow, your blood is Silver." He says as I continue to stare at the floor as if I've never seen it before. And I haven't, I've never been in the throne room before.

"What is your ability?" I hear, the Queen. She seems more insistent on knowing rather than her husband as I speak up. I feel like I'm lower than them. And maybe I am.

"I don't know." I whisper as they stare at me.

"You never had a Father." The King speaks. "Your Mother was never married, she never took after another name. You had no Father, in the files, there was no name for your Father. It just said, Adoption."

I chew my bottom lip as the King says something. I think it was, Medic, or something. I wasn't really listening as, suddenly, something pricked my skin. I immediately jumped as I turned and saw a nurse, a Silver one, with some Silver blood within her little tube. My blood.

"Test results will be ready inside three hours." She says before leaving the room with my blood. Where she pricked feels dull and slightly painful as I rub my arm, hoping the pain would go away.

"How did your blood, ever so magically, turn Silver?" The King asks me as I look down at my feet. "Look up at me when I address you." He announces as I turn to look at him right in the eye. But when I do, something flickers in those red-gold orbs, something that I can't seem to catch.

"I. Don't. Know." I say, stretching out every single word. I've always been known for being well spoken, for thinking my way through. But right now, I was fuming mad. I couldn't think. "I didn't know I was coming here until today, I only know that somehow, someway, my blood has turned Silver. Perhaps its fate, perhaps I'm fake, but I do know that my blood is Silver."

I bring my head up to stare at the king once again, my icy blue eyes shining. Everything about me was wrong, and now I know why. Why my skin was always so pale, why my eyes didn't match my family's. Because I am not part of this family.

"If I am truly such a burden, why don't you just kill me?" I ask them, my voice simple and plain, not breaking one bit. I stare at them, at the Princes and the King and the Queen.

The Queen stares at me, but she instantly looks away, but the King and his sons just stare at me. As if they're searching for something.

"We shall not kill you." The Queen announces and turns to the King and tilted her head. "Becasue you have cured my husband. Isn't that right?"

Her voice is cold and full of aggression. The King stares at her, then he glances at me.

"Of course."

 **Thank you so much for all the encouragement in your reviews! It legit makes my day a thousand times better.**

 **Luv ya,**

 **Emily**


	11. Chapter 11

**Cassandra**

I walk out of the throne room and see a girl who's surrounded by guards. When I glance at her, my heart is taken back.

Mare Barrow.

She's just as surprised, widening her eyes and opening her mouth.

"Cas-" She starts, but the doors to the throne room stop her voice as the guards force me to move along. I gulp and keep walking, wanting to get away from there.

The guards lead me through a maze of hallways before we suddenly stop at my room. They shove me in and lock the door behind me, making me gulp and look around. It doesn't feel as fancy anymore. It looks bare and horrid, it looks too pale and too Silver-like.

 _But isn't that who I am? A Silver?_

My chest doesn't feel heavy anymore, I don't feel as weak as before. I feel energized, blasting full of something that feels like power. I blink and wonder what my ability is anyway. Am I a strongarm or a telky? It wouldn't surprise me one bit if I was some sort of healer, after all, that's what I've been trained to do.

I walk over to the shower and run the water before stripping and hopping in. I let the hot water rush over me, the steam enfolding me into its arms as I let out a soft sigh. This day has been full of surprises and I don't want to find out what the rest of this castle has in store for me.

 **~C~**

When I step out of the shower and dry up, I put on some simple clothes and want to run away back to my home in the Stilts. But I know that they'd find me, and that'd I would just be in even more trouble than before. I glance at the window, a sparkle of hope reaching my eyes, but I easily notice that the windows are bolted down and that I would never make it five feet before reaching the guards.

I'm trapped.

I tap my foot impatiently and lie in my bed, wanting a good night sleep. However, I'm barely able to rest for a good two hours before someone slips into the room. At first, I think that its a guard, or a Senital for that matter, but instead, its a prince.

The Crown Prince.

"Hello." He said as I raise my head and stare at him, not bothering to acknowledge him. I'm still a little sleepy from just waking up. I blink and try to function. _Cal. Cal, the Crown Prince of Calore. The Flaming Crown._

"First of all, I would like to thank you for saving my Father." He said as I shrug.

"Anytime." I respond before getting up. He looks so fancy compared to me. Then again, I suppose he has something else to attend to. Maybe saying who he chose for the Queenstrial. When I try to think of the Queenstrial, my brain gets slightly foggy and I remember the pain that scraped my heart again and again.

"Did you get any news of my blood?" I ask him.

"You might want to change your clothes to fancier ones." He responds, completely dodging my question. I funnel my eyebrows at him before crossing my arms.

"Cal." I start before he sighs.

"I know. I know." He whispers and takes in a deep breath. "I just don't know how to put it delicately."

"Just tell me." I say, pressing him on. "What's the worst that can happen?"

He nods and gives me a sad smile.

"We found out who your Father was." He whispered as I tilt my head, wanting him to go on. "But not your Mother."

"Why not?" I ask him, confused. "Don't you have everyone's blood inside wherever you have it?"

"Yes, we should." Cal said, emphasizing on the should part. "But some of it was missing, we still don't know why, however." He let out a sharp exhale before looking at me.

"Would you like to know who your Father is now?" He asked as I take in a deep breath and nod.

"Julian Jacos. Welcome to the family, Cassie, you're my cousin."

~M~

 **Gasp, what a plot twist! Tell me if it was expected or not in your reviews!F**

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 **Emily**


	12. Chapter 12

**Cassandra**

"Wait... Wait, what?" I say, my eye twitching as Cal stares at me. Then, I start laughing, the sound of my laugh stretching out into the world until, finally, I stop laughing and stare at Cal, realizing that he's not joining in.

"Wait... you're serious?" I whisper as he nods slightly before I widen my eyes. "I-I'm RELATED to you?"

When Cal nods again, my cheek twitches as I run my hands through my hair and shake my head before I force my eyes to look up at him only to find him staring at me. My knees feel wobbly as he says something.

"Your... Your Father is my Mother's brother, and... And you actually do look kind of like her." I widen my eyes at him and shake my head.

"No, no, no, I do not look like the Queen!" I shout, despite the fact that I know that our eyes and hair are the same. I gulp at the thought before he shakes his head.

"No, my Mother is Coriane Jacos, not... not the current Queen." Cal bites his lip when he finishes, as if he's worried that he said too much.

"Oh." I whisper and this deep silence embedded itself into the conversation before Cal speaks up yet again.

"So, you should be a Singer, which is good since... since there aren't much left." He says as I nod slightly at him.

"What if I inherited my Mother's ability?" I ask him as he shakes his head at my words.

"Don't worry, hardly any Silvers in the world inherit their Mother's ability. Its almost always the Father." He replies as I can feel my eye twitch on me. My hands begin to shake like no tomorrow before he continues. "Would you... like to meet him?" His voice cracks as he speaks as I gulp, my throat somehow dry. Still, I manage to nod and he takes out a hand. My hands shake as they come to meet his, hotter than flames itself, yet still delicate enough to touch.

This surge of shock is running over me, it feels like its trying to drown me. I blink away the tears that keep on infiltrating my eyes before looking up at the ceiling. Brilliant white lights surround us, my blood feels as if its coursing harder and harder through my veins as I try to run away the hot tears. When I finally find my voice, I ask the question that I've dreaded to say.

"Wh-What's... What's a Singer?" I whisper. I've never seen any inside of arenas, probably because of what Cal said about there not being many left. I keep looking up, not wanting Cal to see me cry as if he doesn't know already.

Why am I trying to hide my tears of pain from him anyway? Is it because I want to desperately create the illusion to him that I'm strong. That I have no weaknesses? Is it because crying in front of a Prince isn't very... very ladylike? I don't even know anymore, but I do know why I'm crying.

I'm crying... Becuase I hoped that he wouldn't find anything. That there was just some mismatch, and I was my Mother's daughter. It could still be true now... But then I remember the words of adoption printed on the file. Its true that I've never looked into my files, I never found a need to, but I never thought my Mother... or whoever the hell she is, would say that kind of stuff to me. Would lie to me.

"A manipulator." Cal replies as I gulp down the lump that's persistant to rise into my throat. "A voice manipulator, if you hear you're... you're Father's singing voice, you would know what I mean. Its beautiful, his voice at least, and it can make anyone do anything." He gulps before looking at me and I try to nod at the knowledge. I try to pretend everything's okay, I've had enough training in the past.

I remember times when I had to tell patients bad news, that I couldn't do it. That their loved ones died. Every time I did, my voice would crack, but I would never break. I would never sob and punch myself like I wanted to. I would keep a straight face and watch as they broke down in front of me. My people died at the hands that were trained to save them.

But... But are they even still my people? Is the Stilts even still my home?

When we stop in front of some extravagant doors, Cal is about to open them, but I stop him.

"Does he know?" I whisper, knowing that he knows exactly what I'm talking about. But I can't help it, I have to clarify., "That I'm his daughter?"

Cal gives me a sharp nod before pushing the doors open, revealing a huge library. Its cluttered head to toe with books, and a man with greying brown hair and warm brown eyes is waiting for us, standing in front of a desk that's chock full of papers. But his eyes aren't on any of the extravagant books in the room, but on me.

His eyes don't leave mine, and after what feels like an eternity, he speaks.

"Cal, can you go?" His voice isn't what I woudl think it would be. Instead of deep and groaning, it sounds young and lively. But even as he talks to Cal, his brown eyes that are full of knowledge, don't seem to leave my icy blue ones. "I'm sure you have to prepare for the Feast."

"Of coruse." Cal said and left.

I want to scream at him. _Don't leave me here!_ I want to shout. _I don't want to face him!_ But my vocal cords are tied up shut, as if they just want me to look like an idiot. Cal is probably relieved to leave, judging by how quickly he left the room. He didn't want to stay for this awkward family reunion, who would?

"Hello." The man, this Julian Jacos states. This man who's supposedly my Father.

I don't reply, instead, I try to look at somewhere else instead of his eyes. My fingers skim the old leather of a book, swirling around with its golden outlines as the man releases another voice. But this one is a chuckle. My eyes dig back into his as he laughs yet again, this time louder and more unnecessary.

"What?" I ask, my voice sharp and demeaning. The word comes out higher than I originally expected, but I don't really care. The man, my Father, he stops laughing and takes a step forward.

"You're my daughter." He whispered as I blink and continue to stare at him. Then, the next sentence he whispered seemed to be directed at himself. "I have a daughter."

I find the urge to slap him, of course I'm your daughter. Why else would I be here? I want to kick him and scream at him and throw the biggest tantrum the world has ever seen, but instead, I stand perfectly still, except for my fingers, which skim the title of the book. _The History of Norta._

I find an even stronger urge to rip the book into shreds.

"What's your name?" He says as I bring my eyes up to meet his once again. Everyone here is so pale, so ghostly. I've never felt like I fit in like this before.

"I'm sure you have heard of it by now." I respond, my voice slipping through the air.

 _Did you know? Did you know about me? Did you know I even existed?_ I have so many unspoken questions, the kind that hang in the air like a dead man. I don't dare speak them though, I don't know why, but I don't.

"Ah yes, Cassandra Englanes. A doctor, the smartest and the most brilliant girl Stilts have ever seen. Too smart for her own good, easily overpowering any of the students here in Norta. A doctor, perhaps the best Red doctor in the kingdom." He laughs yet agian and shakes his head. "I suppose that's not true anymore."

Yes, its not. I'm no longer a Red Doctor. In fact, I don't even know what I am anymore.

Is he complimenting me becuase he found my skills impressive, or simply because I'm his daughter? I don't know, but it seems rather impossible to think about it all, each word leaving his mouth enough to make my head spin.

"But, Cassandra Englanes, I want to hear your name off of your own lips."

For some reason, I hate the way he talks. It makes my toes curl and my hands to shape itself into fists as I refuse to do as he wishes.

"How are you so sure I'm your daughter." I say, despite the fact that I'm certain that I am. Why would the Silvers lie to me, saying that I'm related to the Royal Family otherwise. Julian Jacos smiles at my words, as if he's happy that I'm talking.

"You look a lot like my sister." He says and squints at me, despite the fact that I'm fairly certain that he has good eyesight. "A lot, like my sister, actually."

"Are you sure that people in our family has ash-blond hair and icy blue eyes?" I ask him as he wrinkles his nose at the desciption.

"No." He replies and mutters something underneath his breath, something I can't hear, before continuing on. "But your face, and no matter what you say... your eyes are just like her. Not icy blue, but something else, something you don't see."

"And what is that?" I ask him as he looks up at me.

"Colourless." He whispers as my hands threaten to shake.

"Thanks so much for the compliment." I snarl at him before he looks down and scratches the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry." He said, his voice soft and full of regret as I shrug at him.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it." I reply and look up at him. "I never looked like anyone in the Stilts, did you know that?" My voice is angry without me meaning it to. It just turned angry, making my entire body flare in hatred. "Do you how hard it was, to have pale skin while everyone else was tan? To always stand out in the crowd, never fitting in? The only reason I studied so hard, was becuase nobody wanted to be friends with me!" I started screaming at him, and I didn't even know why.

He speaks yet again, but his voice is calming. He's trying to calm me down. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked as I feel like my eyes are going to bulge out in anger.

"Did you know!" I interrogate him as he raises an eyebrow. When he doesn't respond, I only get more angry. "I said DID YOU KNOW!" I screamed at him, my hands shaking like no tomorrow. When he still refuses to answer, I feel like a vein in my forehead popped.

"Did you know?" I ask, but for some reason, my voice was strange, my eyes drilling into his. It wasn't full of anger, it wasn't crazed mad. But instead, it was soft and smooth. It sounded down right beautiful, something that made me want to fall backwords. After after the words slip off of my tongue, he opens his mouth to respond.

"No." He says as I stumble backwards, my eyes no longer meeting his. When he blinks and shakes his head, my voice shakes.

"What the hell was that?" I whisper as he gives me a sad smile.

"Good job, Cassandra. You're a Singer. Welcome to the family."

&^%

 **Whoa, whoa, whoa... you guys gave me so many reviews! Thank you all so much for sharing your reactions, it truly makes my day! How do you think of Julian and Cass' first family reunion? Let me know in your reviews!**

 **Review. Favourite. Follow. Share.**

 **Emily**


	13. Chapter 13

**Cassandra**

I can't help it, I start bawling.

It didn't happen all at once, it started with my knees feeling wobbly and weak, then with my hands trembling, their own, miniature earthquake happening inside of it. I felt oddly lightheaded, my entire being slightly shaking and trembling over and over again as I stared at my hands, as if somehow, they would magically change like the rest of my life. Then, somehow, I found myself on the floor, curled up into this pathetic ball and the waterworks immediately turned on.

I didn't even try to hide my cries for distress this time, nor did I look up and try to stop it. I just let out a good cry and when I felt someone's presence humming over me, I looked up to see Julian Jacos, kneeling over me and staring at me as self consciousness suddenly swept over me. What did he think of me?

Then, I shook my head, who cares if he doesn't think of me as indestructible. Who cares. Still, I wiped my eyes clean and let out a soft breath.

"I want to go home." I tell him, my entire being insistent as he touches my shoulder. But its obvious that he doesn't know how to comfort a child, because it sort of just stays there as I wipe my eyes clean. I don't feel eighteen anymore, I feel like I'm six years old. I look up at him, with my blue eyes. Perhaps he was right, my eyes aren't icy blue, but I always associated my eyes like that because hardly anyone in the Stilts had blue eyes in general, and those eyes were dark. I always thought my eyes were icy blue, but perhaps its not at all.

"Please... Let me go home." I mumble to him, not daring to make eye contact with him when he rubs my shoulder before speaking yet again.

"The Royal Court would never let that happen." He replied. "It doesn't matter anyway, you are a symbol. You and the Little Lightening Girl."

I blink at his words and remember the lightening. That damned lightening that got me into this mess in the first place.

"Who is that?" I ask him as he shrugged.

"I'm trying to figure that out at the moment." He replied before helping me up. I'm not taller than him, but I'm pretty damn close. He stares at me, eyes drilling into mine before continuing to talk. "You aren't suppose to stay for long, Cassandra. You need to get back to your room to get dressed up."

I funnel my eyebrows together at his words and wipe the snot dripping from my nose. "For what?"

"The Feast."

&^%

I don't pay attention to whatever the servents are doing, but by the time they're done, I look beautiful. They put some sort of colour around my eyes, and my thin lips look glossy. My face is pale, just like it has been all my life as I stack up a todo list within my mind.

 _Go home and yell at Mom._

 _Pretend you're a Silver._

 _Find Mare and figure out why the hell she was sent for the King._

Luckily for me, I'm able to figure out the last one rather quickly.

When I get inside, after being escorted by some guards, I'm forced to sit next to Julian, who sits rather close to the front of the room, where the Royals are. I can tell that they are all certainly trying, but they're all always glancing my way. Well, except for the Queen, who stares straight ahead, as if I'm too good for her.

But if they aren't looking at me, they're looking at another girl with skin much too pale and hair much too stiff. However, despite the fact that she wears a mask, that her clothes are something I thought I would never see her wear, despite the fact that everything about her is different, I still know who she is.

 _Mare Barrow._

Why she's here, I don't know. But when it all starts, I know. The Royals call her the daughter of a war hero, and they give her the new name of Mareena Titanos. But I can poke through their lies, I can see through their well talked speech. Mare Barrow is from the Stilts, why they're covering that up is beyond me-until I hear her ability.

 _Lightening. The Little Lightening Girl._

That's who Julian was talking about.

The girl even gets betrothed to one of the Princes, as I widen my eyes at that. A princess? How could Mare ever be a princess? I'm still thinking of all the explanations until, suddenly, I hear another speech.

"Today was a day full of surprises as well." The King speaks, his words deep and heavy, flooding the entire room. "Another Silver has been found, this Silver who was born in the same Stilts town. Cassandra Jacos." It sounds wrong, the last name feels unfamiliar to me as I force myself to stand up, considering that's what Mare did.

"She was found and raised in a Red family, and grew up to be a doctor until discovering her place here, with us. Her Father is Lord Jacos, and her Mother is unknown." I look down at my feet at his words before sitting down.

Cal proposes to this girl, Evangeline Samos, as I try to distract myself by running my hands through my dress. Eventually, when it all ends, we get to go to the feast and I leave Julian's side almost immediately and rush over to Mare.

"Hey." I mumble to her as we both grab food from the buffet. There's so much damn food here, yet I'm not hungry to have a single bite. When her eyes flicker to mine, she responds.

"Hey." Silence. "I didn't know you were Silver blood."

"And I didn't know you were either." I respond as she nods and shrugs. "I suppose that means we should stick together."

And there it is, Mare's cheek almost lifting up into a smile.

"I suppose it does.

But she's quickly grabbed by the arm by the younger Prince and taken away as I stare at them before blinking. So much for that idea to stick together. I sigh and grab my food, my hands still shaking as I pick up a small slab of meat before making my way back to the table. This tiny bubble of rage is popping inside of me, I want to go home. I don't belong here with people who I look exactly like.

 _I will run away. I will get home. I will, I must._ I think to myself until my eyes wander over to the guards and I grip my tray even harder. They're trapping me here, and I hate being trapped. However, as I continue walking to my table with my so called father, I'm interfered by my 'family'.

"Hey." I hear and turn to see Cal. But I hardly glance at him as I continue walking, but he quickly gabs my shoulder and forces me to spin around as I see him, my eyes blazing in hate.

"What do you want!" I scream at him as he almost jumps back at my threatening voice. But he quickly recovers and clears his throat.

"M-My Father needs you." He says, his words solid as I stare at him, not missing the stumble in his wording. Still, I nod at him and walk over to the King. He seems rather intoxicated in some sort of alcohol, his eyes gleaming in the slight light of the Feast. When he spots me in the crowd, next to his son, he grins.

"Ah, the Singer!" He says and pats the seat beside him. Cal makes his way over, but the King quickly stops him and looks at me. "I want her." He says as Cal nods, but I see a tint of envy in his eyes as I slowly, but surely make my way over to the seat. When I sit down, I find that its comfortable, too comfortable. But I still manage to sit and give a smile.

"I knew you looked familiar!" The King announces as I nod slightly at him. Then, he does something extremely unexpected. He wraps an arm around my shoulder, forcing me to lean into him. I almost flinch away at the kind gesture, obviously, this King has had much too much to drink lately. He smiles at me as I force a small smile back at him. But then, he squints to see me better as I instantly break the eye contact, afraid to challenge the King of Norta in the eye and look at someone instead only to realize that almost everyone in the room was staring at us. Eventually, I look at Julian, who stares at me with blank eyes.

"I think its a good time to leave." I hear from the Queen and I almost jump and and scream in joy.

"The feast has hardly started." The King said roughly as the Queen shrugged and stared at us with blazing, icy blue eyes. The King nods slightly and gets up. "But I suppose we could go."

I thought that was my cue to go, but instead, he only grabs my hand, forcing me to come with him.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but I think that I should go with my Hous-" I start, feeling a little too self conscious as he shakes his head at my words.

"Nonsense." He replied and kept dragging me along, as if I'm his toy or something.

We're surrounded by Sentinels, and when we're out of the view of the people, the Queen instantly makes a fuss of it.

"What are you thinking!" The Queen screeches. "We're suppose to hold eachother's hands, not make a ruin of everything!" The Queen is all pushy and sounds downright childish. "This entire feast has turned into a disaster-"

"I will hold Coriane's hand!" The King screams as everyone, from the Princes to the Sentinels, stare at us. My cheeks flush a harsh white as a flicker of memory enters my mind. How Cal said that his mother is Coriane. His mother is my Father's sister. And for some reason, the King is under the strong illusion that I'm her.

Suddenly, this shiver is over my entire body. I'm suddenly realizing that this deadly quiet, the only sound the deafening hum of the lights until I open my mouth to finally speak.

"I-I t-think y-you ha-had too much t-to dr-drink, y-your M-Majesty." I say, stuttering at the staring of the Royal family looking at me. Even Mare is looking at me with wide eyes, along with that Evangeline girl. "I-I'm." I took in a deep breath of air and forced my voice to stop stuttering.

"I'm Cassandra." I whisper, my voice so small and so tiny that I'm scared of what he might do to me if I said the wrong thing. The King only stares at me as I bow my head, my ash blond locks falling over my head, revealing the layers of hair underneath.

"Of course." The King whispers, but he won't let the death grip on my hand go. As if he's worried I'll disappear if he even thought of letting go. Then, with his other hand, he lightly touches his forehead. "Perhaps I did have too much to drink."

My heart is hammering within my chest as the King waves his hand to send us off and finally lets go of me. Everyone parts their seperate ways, the Crown Prince leading Mare, and the younger Prince leading Evangeline. It was then, when I realized that nobody was talking to me, even to tell me where to go. I sure as hell didn't know where my room was.

I was alone, everyone leaving the sad, lonely, Jacos girl alone in a castle of terror.

&^%

 **Extra-long chapter for you lovelies. Thanks so much for all the encouragement! It means the world to me. :)**

 **How do you think of Cassandra and the King's relationship? Kind of weird don't you think. Now, I'm going to give you a question that, will hopefully, open your mind to the possibilies.**

 ** _Do you think that Cassandra is even the Queen's daughter?_ **

**Have fun pondering at that!**

 **Review. Follow. Favourite. Share.**

 **Emily**


	14. Chapter 14

**Cassandra**

I wander the almost empty halls of the castle, completely lost. My only source of company seems to be the Sentinels, but they hardly bat an eyebrow at me, much less guide me to where I'm suppose to go. So, I end up wandering the halls like an idiot until I hear a voice.

"You seem lost." I turn to see the Prince, Maven. I raise an eyebrow at him and shrug.

"Well, I can't seem to help it, your Highness." I reply and continue wandering around aimlessly, with absolutely no sense of where the hell I'm suppose to go.

"Do you need help onto where you're suppose to go?" Maven continues as I shrug it away.

"Not really," I respond. "I mean, sure I just got here, but I'm sure I'll know where to go. Of coooourse I will." I wrinkle my nose at my sarcasm as Maven stares at me, as if seriously wondering if I'm serious or not.

"I'm lost." I finally say before shrugging. "Scratch that. I'm not lost, because in order to be lost, you have to know where you're going in the first place."

"And where are you going?" Maven asked me as I roll my eyes at the Prince, not even thinking twice about my actions. He's nothing but a boy, so why should I treat him any more than one?

"That's the entire problem." I respond when I hear a voice.

"Cassandra!" It shouts as me and Maven look towards the direction of the voice, who's hidden within the shadows of the home. When he pops out, I recongize that this is supposedly my 'father'. When he notices Maven, he almost looks disgusted, but he easily masks it. Maven doesn't do as good as a job however.

"My Prince." Julian states as Maven quickly responds.

"Lord Jacos."

"I'll take my daughter from here." Julian continues as Maven nods and quickly rushes away, as if he couldn't wait to get the hell away from me. How nice.

Julian quickly took my hand and started practically dragging me back to the library, despite my complaints. When we finally got into the room, he took in a deep, shaky breath and stared at me.

"What in the world was that?" He asked as I wrinkled my nose at him.

"Which part are you talking about? My blood casually turning silver, me being your daughter, the King talking and dragging me away, or me walking with the younger Prince?" I ask him before crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. Julian shakes his head at me, as if he's wondering about how stupid I am.

"The King." He whispered as I stare at him before shaking my head.

"That was nothing. He just..." I look around at the room, at all the books that crowd the walls. Did he read all of these? "He just thought I was someone else." Then, Julian gave me that sort of look a parent gives their kid, a signal to keep talking. "He thought I was someone named Coriane."

The very second the name makes it way off of my tongue, Julian almost sags into his seat before nodding. "I understand." He whispered as I run my fingers through my hair before looking back at him.

"Ca-Can you teach me?" I whisper as he stared at me.

"What?"

"To sing." I continue as he shakes his head.

"Cassandra, your ability can take years to perfect. I can't just show you how to sing and suddenly your a master at it."

"Please. Just the basics." I continue and exhale. "Please?" I'm desperate, I want to learn. More importantly, I want to protect myself from other Silvers.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra. Maybe another day, but not right now, its late." He continues and right when our eyes connect and I hold his eye contact and continue speaking.

"Teach me. Now." I say, but this time, my voice is different. It's beautiful, more beautiful than I've ever imagined it to be. Its as silky smooth as melted chocolate with a lovely stroke of melody to it all. Julian's pupils almost dilute as he starts automatically.

"Keep your eye contact with your opponent. Once we master the ability, we'll be able to generate it at your will, but for now, it has to be in touch with your emotions." He states as I slightly nod at him before realizing that I broke eye contact with him. When he's off of my spell, he jumps back into a book shelf, making a few books fall down.

"Thanks for the lesson, Julian!" I state with a smile as he quickly composes himself.

"It looks like your a natural, Cassandra." He says before tilting his head at me. "Or at least a quick learner, I've never seen anyone who could do that so quickly."

"Are you telling the truth?" I ask, my voice once again in a song before Julian nods his head. I smile and break eye contact as Julian laughs at me, yet he won't hold eye contact with me anymore.

"Like I said, Cassandra. A natural."

&^%

 **I KNOW ITS SHORT, but I seriously wanted to upload something other than nothing, since I feel like I haven't uploaded this fanfiction in forever.**

 **Sorry...**

 **Annnnyways, thanks for all the reviews you guys! You're the best!**

 **Review. Follow. Favourite. Share.**

 **Emily**


	15. Chapter 15

**Julian Jacos**

Once Cassandra is successfully asleep, I leave her room and creep towards the throne room. A few Sentinels pass me, but all of them make sure that they don't make eye contact with me, and scurry away from me. I don't feel insulted by their actions, after all, nobody seems to trust the last Singer in his house, through, I suppose that fact should change now.

I make my way to the King's bedroom and stop in front of his door. Two Sentinels block the door, both of them not daring to look me in the eye.

"Lord Jacos, why are you here?" One asks as I raise my eyebrow at them.

"King Tiberius Calore has asked for my presence." I state as they open the door a crack to ask him. The King looks ready and at ease by a large table you typically find in conference rooms. He nods and speaks.

"Let him in." He states as the Sentinels crack the door open a little bit more so I can slip through. Once the door is fully closed, I sit down in the chair opposing of the King and clear the throat to start the conversation.

"So many different changes happened today..." Tibe whispered, thoughtfully stroking his beard as I nod at his words.

"Indeed. I was wondering about Cassandra." I don't lock eye contact with him, and he very much knows why. "She is not my daughter." The King nods at my words.

"Cassandra possesses the Singer ability, I know that already, but I can't see any resemblance in me in her. You put up such a good show into making everyone think that you thought she was actually Coriane." The King almost flinches at his late wife's name but quickly covers it up with a nod.

"She doesn't look like anyone I've ever met, yet her blood is Silver." He takes in a deep breath as I continue talking.

"What I don't understand is how easily she mastered her ability. It was almost like second nature to her, and it seemed just a bit too easy." I let out a soft sigh as the King nodded before continuing to talk.

"Perhaps she's like Barrow." He mumbled. "A girl with red blood with a silver ability. Perhaps she has the original mutation."

The King says it as a question, but I shake my head. "There hasn't been a mutation in years... Maybe she's a spy from the Lakelanders and she's trying to infiltrate us."

"That could be true, Elara hasn't looked into her head just yet, so I suppose it could be true." The King states as I nod slightly.

"It still puzzles through." I continue. "How does she have her Singer ability, and how did she master it so quickly?"

"I suppose we'll know tomorrow, Lord Jacos." The King states as I get up, knowing that this conversation is over.

"I suppose so." I respond and leave the room, still with dozens of questions in my mind.

&^%

 **Cassandra**

I wake up at the brink of dawn, my eyelids fluttering open before I stretch up, finally getting used to the setting of the Hall of Fire. My head is tired and my hands are shaky, but I still feel alive. I still feel remotely like me.

I quickly manage to get up, only to find a piece of paper waiting for me on my bedside table. A schudule. I'm quickly able to read it over before I grab some clothes and slip it on and leaving my room before sort of wandering through the halls, wondering quietly if there would be some sort of person to escort me to where I need to go.

I honestly forgot how long I spent just walking around, staring at the cold furnishing of the palace. Everything felt hard and shiny, way too shiny to look realistic. Every now and then, a Sentinel would pass me, but whenever I would try to talk to them, they would pass me as if I was nothing.

"Excuse me-" I started at one of them, who only bumped me in the shoulder and passed by me. Anger gripped my heart as I scrunched my fists together, but I quickly took quick, shallow breaths of air and went to the next Sentinel, this time, my patience was at a pure miminum.

"Excu-" I start but the Sentinel just walks by me like the last, not even staying to hear what else I had to say. That level of disrespect somehow, someway, made my breathing shallow and rapid. Suddenly, my hands were scrunched into balls of anger as I narrowed my eyes at the back of the person's head, quietly hoping that it would explode or something like that. When I spoke again, my voice was sharp and heated in hate and vemon.

"STOP!" I say, my voice a scream, yet somehow staying at my flat, lifeless tone. The man, surprisingly, stopped right in his tracks, not daring to go another inch. There was something about my voice that was different, but at the moment, I didn't care, I was too caught up on unraveling my anger.

"Take me to breakfast." I say and when the Sentinel slowly turns around to move, I continue. "NOW."

The Sentinel reaches me faster than I can blink. He must be a Swift, judging by the way that he could pick me up with ease and sprint faster than a cheetah to the Breakfast room. When he sets me down, I've calmed down, just a tad and I don't even bother to look at the disgraceful man.

"Leave me, go do what you were doing before." I state and walk away as the man races away from me. I stroll into the breakfast room, where the two betrothed and a Queen lies.

"Hello." I say, and for some reason, my voice makes them flinch. It's Evangeline who talks first however.

"How the hell did you do that?" She says, basically interrogating me.

"What?" I ask as she gestures to the door. "Oh, its called opening a door. Not everyone can move things with their mind, you know."

"No, the guard. You didn't look at him, you aren't a whisperer. How did you do that?" She asked as Elara stood up.

"Yes, how did you do that, Cassandra?"

And that was all I heard before a mind boggling pain entered my mind, sentencing me dead.

&^%


	16. Chapter 16

**Cassandra**

 _"Cassandra..." I hear, my mind is a whirlpool of emotions as I see the small squiggly lines of a woman and a man slowly take form. The lady looks like she's made of gold, with locks that represent sunshine. Her eyes are made of the most beautiful blue I've ever seen in my life, the brightest and most vibrant blue I've ever looked at before. Her face is petite, a small heart shaped, but her eyes show signs of deep age. Her nose is crooked and tall for her face, and her lips are thin and tense._

 _The man has brown hair, with eyes that look like melted chocolate. He's kind of ugly, with some stubble over his chin, and a tiny nose. His face has a few scars unlike the lady, and his mouth turns into a grin, making him look ten years younger. Both of them look like they're in their thirties._

 _"Cassandra." The man whispers when everything seems to melt away, a pair of icy blue eyes following my every step._

 _When I blink, I'm staring at a wooden ceiling, in a bed I suppose, but it feels more like I'm lying on a piece of wood, that's how hard it is. My breathing is ragged and uneven, and this slice of pain is howling against my knee, making me cry like the little baby I am. I didn't even know how old I was, I don't even know how I remembered all this, this is how long ago this way._

Elara, it must be, _I realize as I hear something else. The sound of fighting, their voices raging against my skull as I just lie there, crying, dimly hearing the noises of their heated arguement._

 _"What are we to do!" One person screams. "She is a monster! She is one of_ them!"

 _"We kill her, it's as simple as that. We kill her before someone figures out and sentences her to something worse."_

 _There's this odd quietness, except for my wails of sadness, everyone is oddly silent before the first person speaks again. This time, I can tell that this is a man's voice, and the second voice is a lady._

 _"You know that we can't do that." He whispered, so quietly, that I wonder how I was able to hear that. Who does he want to kill, why does he want to kill her? This is so confusing, that I can't even think when I hear the lady speak._

 _"I know. But I refuse to raise a monster." She responds before someone walks into the room. "It all makes sense now."_

 _"What do we do?" The man whispers, his voice so quiet as someone scoops me into their arms. Suddenly, I realize that this is the lady from my first memory, and her eyes are as bright and livid anymore. They're more dull, they seem so damn sad. It was then, when I see me in those eyes and it all clicks into place._

 _This lady is my Mother. She must be._

 _Perhaps I'm stupid to not think of it in the first place, or maybe I was just in denial, but the very thought makes me shiver. She wants to kill me. Kill me because I'm a... a monster?_

 _"I told you, we kill her." She whispers and narrows her eyes at me. My heart drops at the words when she hits my cheek, and my cries intensify. My breathing is harsh and uneven as I cry even harder. "They deserve it, the Silvers deserve it. I refuse to raise one of those savages."_

 _Suddenly, an intense pain is aching against my skull. I can't take this, the memory is too intense, and I don't want to keep going on._

I scream in the real world, my entire body shaking so harshly that I'm worried that I'm vibbrating the entire world.

"Ge-Get out." I whisper, my vision swapping from the real world to the memory. I see Elara, standing over me like the giant and God she thinks she is. She seems almost relieved, as if she was happy about something. Then I'm seeing my Mother, the lady who wants me to die, who gave birth to me, and wanted to kill me. _It was because my blood was Silver. Because I was_ different. I don't know which lady is worse.

"I said, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I screech and the memory fades, getting released from my mind as I stumble backwards, my eyes darting towards Elara and then to Evangeline before seeing Mare, everyone staring at me as I take in deep breaths, trying to comprehend what just happened.

After a few seconds, Elara blinks and shakes her head before Evangeline speaks. "Your Majesty, what did you see?" She asked as Elara responds in a voice I can tell that she's trying not to break.

"Nothing. She is not a Lakelander." Her voice is soft as I stumble backwards and knock into a piece of furniture. I instantly leap and scream, all of my nerves jumpy and my head still spinning. My Mom wanted me dead. My parents wanted me dead. They wanted me to die because I was different. Then how did I survive?

"How did you do that?" Someone asks me, it must be Evangeline. I'm leaning over to the wall, trying not to vomit as I take in deep breaths. "You didn't look her in the eye, yet you still commanded her. How, Cassandra?"

"Do-Don't talk to me." I whisper and crumble into a little ball, being utterly pathetic as I raced my fingers through my hair, my entire being still in shock. My voice isn't a song, it isn't anything really. It sounds rather empty to the open ear.

"Maybe she's like me." Mare states as I feel tears rush down to my lap, tears that I didn't even know were falling from my eyes. I race my hands through my hair and am tempted to pull them out of my head. My sob breaks as I rub the tears away from my eyes and feel a hand against my shoulder. I want to scream at the top of my lungs when I turn my head and see a Sentinel.

"Her Royal Highness wants you to answer her question." He says. Does he really want me to answer a question I never even heard? I rub my cheeks and shake my head.

"Ple-Please, just gi-give m-me some sp-space." I respond, but the Sentinel doesn't buy it when he literally picks me up as if I was nothing. A strongarm, he must be.

His touch is just as rough and harsh as my Mother when she picked me up and slapped me. Now, I do want to throw up, and I do, all over the ground. The man flinches at my vomit as I shake my head again and again, like a crazy person.

"Put me down." I hiss as the man instantly drops me. I land on my thigh and I gasp from the impact. I quickly get up and try to leave the room when the Queen whispers in my head. The whisper that cost me so much, the whisper that showed me the truth.

 _Not so fast, Cassandra._ She whispers as I walk back into the breakfast room, as if I am under her spell.

And I am in her spell, in a way, but the thing is, I have a trick or two up my own sleeve.

&^%

 **Sorry for the late update. I literally have no excuse other than the fact that I am lazy and procrastinating is in my nature.**

 **If you guys think that I haven't been updating for a while, please call me out on it. It let's me remember that people actually do read this story and it is not just some little story in my head anymore. Lol.**

 **Review. Follow. Favourite. Share.**

 **Emily**


	17. Chapter 17

**Cassandra**

I stare at Julian Jacos, who's simply staring back at me, as if we're having some sort of staring contest. My breathing is heavy as I bite my lip so harshly, I'm sure that I'm drawing blood. I can still feel hints of the memories that Elara threw at me drown my mind. I feel lightheaded, like I just drank too much alcohol for my own good. I take in a deep breath, my bottom lip trembling, before I speak.

"I'm not your daughter."

My voice is soft and smooth, not to mention extremely controlled. I try to make it so that it doesn't break or shatter against my will, and when it doesn't, I feel like smiling. I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for his response. My voice is a weapon, I am a weapon. I was once used to heal the wounded, and now, I'm can shatter them at my will.

Julian picked me up, literally. He grabbed my shaking body and took me back to my own room, not even saying one word. That's when he started staring at me, like he's trying to figure me out or something like that. I try to remember the little amount of training I had in trying to calm down patients. Speak in a calm, controlled voice, remind them that it's going to be okay. That they're going to be okay.

Obviously, I've spoken many lies in my past.

Julian's eyes dart away from mine before he stands up and begins to make his way out of the room. I take in a deep breath and for a moment, I want to manipulate him into telling me the truth. My song is on the tip of my tongue, but I stop myself before I get the chance. I can not keep doing this, people will become afraid of me, they'll never want to talk to me. Though, I suspect that that's already true right now.

"Well?" I ask softly and turn to him. "Am I your daughter?"

But Julian only sighs and rubs his chin before responding. "I don't know."

"That doesn't sound very promising." I mumble and take in a deep breath. I can practically feel his flinch. I am a weapon, I am a tool. I am destructive. "I'm leaving."

"You can't. You should know by now." He scolds me, as if he has any right to even think about saying that to me. As if he could control me, as if he could actually stop me from leaving.

"I used to know a lot of things. Now, it's all messed up." I can feel tears pricking into my eyes as I tuck my knees close to my chest. I rest my head within my arms and think about what this means. I came into this building a Red, and now, I will leave a Silver.

It was then, when I heard the sound of the door being knocked.

Julian instantly ran over, probably just to separate the awkward silence in the room. I slightly turn my head at the door and stare at the person who walks into the room. He has blue, icy eyes and a hoodie covering his shiny black hair. Maven.

"Hello, Lord Jacos." His voice sounds oddly cold, which seems ironic based on his ability. "I came to pick up Cassandra." He states as I take in a deep breath. When Maven walks into the room without asking for anymore permission, my eyes follow his feet as he makes his way over to me.

"Hello, Cassandra." He says, his voice now oddly professional. My eyes drill up to his as I nod, acknowledging his presence. "I was told to take you to my Mother. She wants to speak to you again."

"No." I say, my voice sharp and loud. My body shakes as I even think of the thought as I shake my head frantically. "No, leave." My voice isn't my voice anymore, all I can hear, is a song. But Maven doesn't leave and for a moment, I wonder how he managed to avoid my trap when he grabbed my arm and drags me away.

"Wait! No!" I scream, my voice frantic and harsh as I thrash against his iron hold. "LET ME GO!" My voice sounds an opera, a harsh, beautiful song that hardly makes it way out of my mouth. But he doesn't let me go.

This feeling of coldness surrounds my body, despite Maven's heat. I start crying, my tears rushing down my cheeks as I let out one sob after another. Is this boy immune to my singing? Is he going to take me to my torture once more? And here I thought that he could be nice, that he could be kind, despite his Silver blood and Royal status. I don't belong in the crowd of Silvers, nor a family of Reds. I don't belong anywhere.

"Please..." I whisper, and my voice is nor longer the weapon that makes me jump at the sound. It's just my voice, nothing more and nothing less. "Please just let me go."

It was then, when Maven took off his hoodie, to reveal ear plugs inside of his ears. No wonder why he wasn't affected by my song, he couldn't hear it.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra." He whispered and finally lets go of me. I stumble away from him as my back hits the walls. My eyes dart from him to the window nearby. I could run, I could rush away into another world. My hands shake as Maven takes out his earplugs. This is my chance to manipulate him, this is my only chance to run from this shiny, hideous castle. "But Mare told me to do it."

Suddenly, Mare appears, but she's a girl who I remember. Her face is coated with so much makeup, she looks like a vampire. She's beautiful, but also so fake. Though, if I didn't know how she looked like initially, I probably would've thought that that was her real face. I take in deep breaths and occasionally look at the window before Mare speaks.

"Cass, are you alright?" I shake my head frantically at her words as let out a low sob.

"I-I can't take this!" I whisper and shout all at the same time. I think of how Maven looks with a fireball in hand and electricity snaking up Mare's arm. I imagine my voice shaking the world, making everyone run away in fear of me. I don't want this, I NEVER wanted this.

"Listen to me, Cass." Mare whispers, her voice small and light. "We need to escape."

My sobbing stops by then when Mare gestures over to Maven, who only widens his eyes at Mare's words. He's about to... To do something, when I speak, my voice beautiful.

" _Maven, leave us. Remember none of this."_ I say, as Maven's eyes turn glossy and he walks away without another thought. Mare smiles at my move and gestures to the cameras.

"They're watching us, Cass, act like we're walking to class." She whispers softly as I raise an eyebrow. Class?

It was then, when the Sentinels showed up.

"Lady Titanoes, and Lady Jacos, go back to your designated rooms. Now." They don't sound nice at all as I turn to Mare and grin.

"Leave me and Mare." I say and they all immediately start walking in the opposite direction. "Remember none of this."

"That is... awesome." Mare whispers as we continue walking.

"Alright, Mare, it's your turn." I whisper back when Mare shakes her head.

"I-I can't even feel my ability." She laughs softly at her words. "How are you able to do that so quickly?"

I only shrug at her words as we continue to walk. "I don't know, it's just natural I guess." I respond when I hear a voice that stops me right in my tracks.

"Where do you two think you're going?"

&^%

 **Gasp, cliffhanger. I know, I'm evil, blah, blah, blah.**

 **Anyways... THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! FYI, I used to 'want' to update every week or so, but... Well, I don't think that's happening anymore. I'm going to try, but I swear to gummy bear gods above that I will update at the very least, once every two weeks. You knows are pretty damn serious when we're talking about the gummy bear gods.**

 **Remember to stay awesome!**

 **Emily**


	18. Chapter 18

**Cassandra**

"Umm... Nothing." I reply and turn around to see Julian. But he only raises an eyebrow at me and Mare before she raises an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean nothing?" He asks as Cal rushes over and spots Mare and me. I stare at him as Mare nudges to me.

"Come on, Cassandra. Do your thing." She whispers as I open my mouth to sing, but for some reason, I feel as if my vocal chords have been shut.

"Go away." I say, but there is no song within my voice, in fact, it sounds dry, not at all rich and beautiful like how I'm used to, even when I'm not singing. It sounds just like it should belong to an old lady. I know I should be angry, but for some reason I feel... relieved? Maybe it's just that I'm not completely a Silver, maybe I'm not a monster. Perhaps I can control this curse.

But when I see Cal nod his head, I realize that someone is behind. "Thank you, Arven." When I turn to look, I see a man with white hair and pale, wrinkled skin. He nods his head back at Cal before taking his place by his side. When Cal looks back at me and Mare, I'm suddenly extremely aware that my throat feels like it's closed shut. I gulp and attempt to speak, to sing, but Julian only places a hand over my shoulder, making me flinch.

"It's no use, Cassandra." Julian whispered as I can only stare at him. I feel like I can't speak, in fact, I find it hard to breath. What is this? "He's a Silencer, he turned your abilities off." He states when I feel another pair of hands wrap around my shoulders. They're rough and bare and when I turn around, I realize that their Sentinels.

"Send them to their rooms." Cal states, refusing to look at me or Mare in the eye. With no warning, the Sentinels shove both of us towards our rooms, which are in different directions. At first, I'm struggling, my voice wanting to be heard, but when Arven looks at me even more intensely, I realize that there is no hope. I get dragged along like a paper doll and steal one more glance at Julian and Cal, both of whom look guilty.

I wish I could scream.

&^%

"Interesting." I hear for the umpteenth time. My eyes flutter to Julian, who's documenting something about Mare. We're in her new training room, and she's practicing her ability. My hands play with the heavy weight of the Silent Stone wrapped around my wrists, something they called Silent Stone Manacles. Julian told me that it's to keep me in check.

 _They don't want me to play with anyone's minds. Not now, not ever._

Call me crazy, but I don't really mind the shakles. I don't care that people stare at me, that people don't want to come close to me or else they might get infected with the Silencing power. I've lived for 18 years without a taste of my power, I can live without it. Still, there's a certain tiring affect that the manacles give me. Instead of being active like I used to be, I feel the need to sit down every living moment I get. It doesn't help that I'm forced to run a bit, just to stay in shape. But the more I run, the stronger I get.

And the weak do not survive in this palace.

I try not to feel jealously as Julian teaches Mare how to harness her ability. I try to become envious of the fact that while Mare has to follow a strict schedule, she still gets more freedom than me. She still gets to talk to people. Nobody wants to talk to me, the girl who can make you do anything with a cord of her voice.

I try to ignore the fact that sometimes at night, it's hard to breath. I try to pretend that I'm not slowly forgetting how to mend broken bones. I try to tell people that at night, I don't repeat what I learned when I was studying to be a doctor. _Set the bone, wrap the bone, keep it steady. Press the cloth against the wound to stop the bleeding, clean it out, search for infection signs, remember to wrap it tight to stop any bacteria. Save lives, Cassandra, you live to save lives._

I try to forget the memories that Elara showed me, and I try to stop thinking of the lady and man who wanted to kill me because I'm different. I'm trying to do so many things, but the more I try, the more harder everything becomes.

I used to be so good at following the rules, I used to master the art of lying, but that's gone now. This place is sucking the life out of me.

"There's nothing wrong with being different." I hear, it must be Julian. It's becoming easier to live with Silent Stone against my wrists. I have gotten used to it, I feel strong, not deprived nor weak. Silent stone can make or break you.

"Control Mare." I hear and look up only to see Mare running away. I widen my eyes at her and race after her, afraid of what she might do. She is my only friend in this prison. Maven and Cal has been cold to me even since I trie to escape. Julian pretends I don't exist most of the time. Mare is the only person who's been with me.

I rush after her, my legs prepped and ready to run after her. She goes outside, the rain pouring down harshly against her skull and I'm about to go out when a gloved hand harshly grabs my arm. I don't fight against it, knowing it's pointless. I see the Sentinel and watch as he tries to drag me back to Julian again, but when I see Mare and her desperate, silent cries for help, I know I can't leave her.

I might not be able to fight, but maybe, just maybe, I might be able to sing.

"Le-Let go of me." I say, straining every muscle in my throat to let the words out. Their weak and I have to make laser eye contact with the man, but I can still hear it. I can still hear a bird's song let go in my voice. My head is spinning at the act and I can hardly breath when the man follows my weak orders and lets go of me. I want to collaspe right there and now, my entire being too nauseous to do anything else when someone tackles me.

I scream when I hear a snap and pain floods my chest. A rib must be broken. My breathing is harsh and uncontrolled as my vision turns blurry. I hear a scream, it must be Mare, but another voice is heard over her.

"She can still _sing."_ Someone says, his voice harsh and cold. A Sentinel, it must be. "Stop her from ever singing again."

And then they drag me off.

&^%

They gave me another pair of manacles then sent me off with Julian.

For the rest of the day, I'm stumbling along. I want to fall, everything feels heavy. My brain is pulsing, and my hands are trembling. But Julian still has earrands to do, and since he's my supervisor and 'father' I have to follow him. But everything hurts, everything feels like hell.

At one point of time, when we're both trudging through an empty hallway, I stop and rest my trembling hands over my knees. Tears are corrupted inside of my eyes as I find it harder and harder to move my legs. Forget singing, I can hardly breath. My legs buckle as I struggle to stan up straight. I'm looking at the shiny, tiled floor and vaguely hear Julian's voice as he says something to me.

"Come, Cassandra." He says as I take in a few deep breaths, prepping my vocal cords for the hell I'm about to put them through.

"Jus-Just gi-give me a-" I gulp and shake my head. Sweat is laced over my brow as I take in deep breaths my entire body trembling when it all becomes too much. This is all too much.

I don't think twice when I collaspe, my body completely still. I can't breath, that's too hard. My legs are tucked to my chest as I stutter, wanting to take in breaths of air as I twitch randomly. Out of everything to do, I think of the proper procedure for this.

 _CPR, probably. Take off the manacles, do CPR. Make sure patient is breathing and hook her up with an IV as well as a-a._

I can vaguely see Julian's face as he shakes my shoulders, but everything is blurred out like I was just dunked underwater. Before I know it, I see someone. He's eyes are red-gold and serious, with a full beard lacing his face. His eyes are full of worry and flooding my face, a crown lopsided on his head.

And even though I find it hard to breath, even though I find it hard to even stay alive, I speak. I speak because that's what got me into this mess, and what will get me out.

"I saved you." I whisper and let out a single breath. I close my eyes, finally at peace, and say one last thing before my mind fades away.

"Now you return the favour."

&^%

 **How do you like where this story is going? Sorry for taking the longest time to update, I just really wanted to write a longish chapter this week.**

 **Annnnyways, remember to REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVOURITE, AND SHARE.**

 **Luv ya, Emily**


	19. Chapter 19

**Cassandra**

I open my eyes and for the first time in the past few weeks, I feel like I can finally breathe. I bring my hands up to wipe my face to find that no manacles stand over my wrists, instead, they are free and a ghostly white. My eyes widen at the very sight of them as I sit up and look around. This place looks like a hospital, in fact, I think it is a hospital. For once, the sheets aren't a dirty, stained dark brown and red from years of usage, with patches of make-do cloth stitched onto it to substitute for the empty holes.

People always find them disgusting to look at, since they're to suppose to be operated in a room that isn't even sanitary, but I swear to god that I wash them as best as I can. Except some stains just never do come out.

These new sheets are as white as a cloud, in fact, its about one or two shades lighter than my own skin tone, which means that it's pretty damn light. I clutch the sheets as hard as I can, as if just to assure myself that this is real. Then, suddenly, I hear a voice that makes me flinch.

"Cassandra, are you alright?" This voice belongs to Cal, and I can almost picture his face within my mind as I squeeze my eyes shut. Microphones they call it, right? Cal must've talking from there.

"Yes." I whisper so softly, I almost can't hear myself as silence erupts inside of the conversation. I'm about to repeat myself when Cal speaks once more.

"It's been a week. Oh and I'm sorry for the... circumstances." Cal states as I rub the back of my neck at his wording choice. "It's just that, well, my Father doesn't trust you very much with your voice."

I softly nod at his words, figuring that he can hear me. Mate constantly complains that she can feel the weight of the video cameras on her, so I can only assume that there must be some here.

"You fainted." Cal clears up, as if to remind me. I slowly nod my head as he continues. "So we had to take the manacles off. You should stay off all that weight for the next few weeks."

I can hear the double meaning in his words, or at least, the warning the words push me to hear. Inside a few weeks, I'm going to be back on the manacles. In a few weeks, my torture will resume and my world will become just as heavy and gloomy as before.

The very thought makes me want to cry. Hearing Cal say it is like a stab to my throat as I don't say anything and he doesn't say anything back.

All I can really do, is think and think about what my life has become. All I can do is think about how I was content with living within a prison, about how I was actually complying with having a pair of shackles that drained the life out of me every step I walked.

All I could think about, was the fact that during that time, nobody bothered to help me. During that time, no Silver, not Julian, not the King, not Maven, and not even Cal, helped me. Not even Mare.

I forget how long I laid there, staring at the ceiling in complete disparity when, finally, a servant walked into the room. I know her name, Walsh, she's nice, but mostly just quiet. She hands me a tray that holds a sandwich as well as a cup of tea. A little piece of whiteness sticks out of the cup, which I assume is just a tea bag, so I fish it out.

However, instead of a teabag, I find a folded piece of paper.

My eyes almost instantly flicker to the camera at the side of the room and I stare at the red dot that should be gleaming at me. But instead of a red dot, I find a blank camera looming over my head. It's off, someone is turning the cameras off.

 _Mare, it has to be,_ I think as I slowly unravel the paper to see the note that lay underneath.

 _Rise, red as dawn. Midnight._

Midnight comes with ease as I wait for the door to open, certain that I know what I'm doing. I'm fidgety as I wait, my foot drumming against the ground as I take in deep breaths, my heart ready to bounce out of my chest at any moment. I know what I have to do, I _have to do it._

It happens quicker than I can comprehend, the clock strikes midnight and suddenly, the dim lights that once lit up my room turned completely black as my breathing hitches when a sudden flam emerges into the room. I'm expecting a candle, but instead, it's a Prince.

Maven.

And Mare, who's not far behind. Her eyes are flickering from side to side of the room. I sure wasn't expecting Mare to bring her betrothed, and for a moment, I forget my plan.

"Hello, Cassandra." Maven stares, his voice icy cold as Mare only nods our way. "Do you want to be part of taking down this corrupted kingdom? Are you prepared to bring peace on both Silvers and Reds? Do you want to freedom and peace that Norta has waited much too long for?" But all I can do is stare at both of them as Mare steps forward.

"Join us, Cassandra. Join the Guard, and be part of the Dawn." She states as I finally manage to open my mouth to respond.

"What would you do if I refused?" I whisper softly as Mare only gives me a sly grin.

"Now why would you do that?"

Hardly a second after she says that, I open my mouth and that song, that beautiful song comes into focus. The song that they tried to strip me of, the song that makes me more powerful than everyone fears I will be.

"Leave me and leave the door open." I sing, my voice just as beautiful as I remembered. It is the sound of melted chocolate and love, the sound of honey and laughter.

Then, almost zombie like, they both do. They walk out of the room and I jump up from my bed and make a run for it to the outside world. For some reason, I'm already out of breath from that one song. Maybe I'm just not feeling very well, after all, I did spend quite some time in manacles.

"Ma-MARE!" Maven screams as I almost slap myself silly. I forgot to wipe their memories. "SHE'S GOING TO TELL !" He screamed, as I see in the corner of my eye Mare blinking rapidly before looking at me and breaking into a run. I'm much too out of breath to sing back to her.

Suddenly, before I know it, I'm outside. The sky is pouring harshly, and I'm slightly concerned that I might get hyperthermia when Mare comes. She instantly gets drenched as I realize that the water outside is pooling up past my ankles. And that's when it hit me.

Water plus electricity is never the best idea.

And Mare must've figured that out as well since tiny, purple, electrical sparks dazzle by her fingertips. They jump around and snake up her arms as she begins to get ready to place her hands in water when I scream.

"MARE, PLEASE DON'T!" I scream at the tops of my lungs, my body shaking from the coldness of the night and my ability seeming to falter.

"WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU!" Mare screams back at me. The thunder rackles over the world as I quickly realize that nobody can hear us underneath the tremendous rain and lightening going on. "YOU KNOW HOW MUCH ME AND MAVEN ARE WORTH! IT'S ENOUGH TO BUY YOU A NEW LIFE." Then her voice lowers so much, I can only faintly hear her over the rain. "We're worth enough to buy your freedom."

And to be honest, that didn't even cross my mind. It didn't even click in my brain that I could use them to get out of here, and the idea seems quite easy to do. But when I look at Mare once again, I already know that I can't.

"You just have to trust me, Mare." I whisper softly when Maven finally appears. My eyes flicker towards him when I slowly back away. Mare continues to stare at me, her eyes wide and round like a puppy's.

"You have to trust me. I refuse to live another second in those damn manacles. Please."

The rain blows down even harder on the world as I wonder if this is a hurricane. I can hardly hear myself think, in fact, I can hardly see a foot ahead of me, when Mare brings her hands up.

For a moment, I'm fearing for my life. I can't sing, she won't hear me. I close my eyes and wait for the world to cease, when only a lightening bolt strikes the top of The Hall of Fire. I flinch as Mare looks up at the sky, like she's praying or something.

"Go, Cassandra." She says, sounding quite tired and out of breath. Maven only stares at the two of us in disbelief, but doesn't cut in. "Find your freedom. I'll stall you some time." Her face tightens and suddenly, another lightening bolt attacks the Hall of Fire as I slowly back away and nod.

"Thank you, Mare." I whisper so feebly, I know she can't hear me.

"Thank you."

 **Oh my god, I updated. This is crazy, and no, this isn't a dream. I flipping updated.**

 **Okay, not on time, but hey, when do I update on time?**

 **Thank you so much to Giselle for lending me the idea to have Mare control a flipping hurricane. It really did fit in well with the story. And yes, to answer my fellow die-hard Red Queen lovers, Mare probably wouldn't be able to control a hurricane, but you know what? Now she can, deal with it.**

 **Giselle and all my fellow Miami readers, I hope you guys stay safe from Irma. Help out Houston, Texas, by um... texting money to a number that I constantly see but forget what the texting thing is. To my Houston readers, I wish the best of luck to you. Stay safe.**

 **Review. Follow. Favourite. Share.**

 **Emily**


	20. Chapter 20

**Cassandra**

I run, my legs flying from beneath me as I continue to make my way out of Summerton. Every now and then, I dart my eyes back to make sure that nobody is following me, but most of the time, I'm just running my heart out, my entire body stiff and full of nerves as the rain continues to pour down from above.

With each step I take, the more hope takes into my heart. The more I run, the more I feel like I might actually get to live my life today. My feet fly across the harsh terrain as I continue to sprint along, the rain soaking my entire body, when, suddenly, I'm at the exit, where a man stands.

I wonder how I must've looked. My face paler than ever before, and my hands shaking in the cold. The rain splashing close to over my ankles, and my dress hugging every inch of my skin. A guard stands by the side when a tremble of thunder is heard over the everlasting rain fall. I immediately think of Mare and wonder about the extent of her abilities. How good can she be?

"Who are you?" The man instantly questions when I unleash my voice, louder and more beautiful than ever before.

"Let me through, remember none of this!" I scream, my voice perfectly pitched that flows as smoothly as honey. The guard does exactly what I say as I sprint through and make my way towards one place and one place only.

The Stilts.

I need to pick up my Mother and save her. Maybe she concealed me from this world, maybe she hid me from what I was truly born to do, but she is still my Mother. She picked me up when I fell, she listened to when I spoke of my dreams. She is the reason I can fix someone's leg or even write the way I do.

If I don't find her now, then who knows what the Silvers would do to her.

The rain continues to swish along the ground, and my body continues to shiver as I run faster and faster. When I see it's fiery lights light up in the distance, I almost grin. I'm so close... so close.

But then I see the river that seperates me from my home.

I take in deep breaths and dive on in. My clothes drag my down as I hastily try to swim across, and the cold water drenches over me again and again. At one point, I'm stuttering for air, and the next, I'm on the wet, wet land, hardly able to breathe. My breathing is harsh and uneven as I stumble upwards and try to walk.

When I'm almost near the town, I finally realize that my hands are beginning to turn blue and that somehow, I got a long slash down my right leg. I tremble into the town to see that everyone is already barged into their home. Every single house is barricaded from the rain, but I don't care, I don't care, I don't care.

The town I'm so familiar with feels so foreign after so many weeks of being trapped within that horrid building for so long. I feel dizzy, like I'm not even able to stand. The adrenaline is long gone from my body, and my entire being feels dead on the inside.

Yet still I trudge on. Yet still I take one step after the next, my tears dripping from my eyes when I finally see the house I've come all this way to get to.

I slam the door open, my face a grin as I get ready to bring my Mother out of this mess. Where we shall go, I don't know, but I do know that it'll be far, far away.

But when I get in, I only see my Mother with a knife against her neck and a man holding the knife. I saw this man before, he was the one who I manipulated. He is the Swift who originally brought me to the Breakfast room.

And beside the Swift, stands no one other than the Crown Prince himself.

Cal.

"Don't even think about talking." Cal whispers, and there's a hint of remorse within his voice. His hair, usually black and shiny, as if it's been glossed all over, is now strikingly tall and straight, held together by rain. A certain steam lifts up from his body, which I assume is because of his ability and the coat of water over his skin.

There is no need to say or else. I know what happens to my Mother if I even utter a word. I can't control two people, and if I tell Cal to stop, the Swift will kill my Mother. If I tell the Swift to stop, Cal will do the honours. But when I glance into those firm, red-gold eyes, I can see a flicker of something. Fear. Hatred. Love. I can't tell what it is. My gut tells me that Cal won't kill my Mother, but then I remember the hours I watched him train. I think about how he was made to fight, how he didn't think twice about murder.

He will follow his orders. He will kill her.

It's a risk to talk now. It's a risk of my Mother's life to even sing a tone.

"Cassandra." My Mother mumbles, her voice sounding old and terrifyingly soft. I can't help but remember how she isn't my blood mother. How she found me on the street a Silver and raised me a Red. She misled others about who I was and only kept me to herself. She is my Mother, and that will never change. "Cassandra, is that really you?"

She must've thought I was dead. I was gone for weeks, and she didn't get a letter or even a note good bye. That, or perhaps she even thought that I abandoned her since I had moved onto a better life.

A Silver life.

But I would trade my Red life for a Silver one any day of the week.

Her voice, so scratchy and horrid, only reminds me of how different we truly are. I think of the changes I felt for the past few weeks.

I have a theory, the pills... the pills don't just change my ability. It changed how I looked entirely. Before, my hair half ash blond and half brown. Now, it's been evened out into a soft, golden colour, as if it's found it's middle. I turned a little bit taller and slimmer, my eyes turned widened. The only thing that truly hasn't changed at all, was my icy blue eyes. I don't care about what Julian or anyone else tells me. My eyes are icy blue, I just know it.

I want to yell at my Mother that I'm here. That I'm here to save her and protect her like how she did for me for so many years.

But I'm afraid.

I'm so damn afraid that that'll be a lie.

"Cassandra, no harm will come to your Mother." Cal says, his voice soft and even. But those beautiful, red-gold eyes refuse to meet my own. As if he's a ashamed, as if he's scared. I don't know which one to believe. "You just need to come back."

Another harsh sound of thunder interupts my ear. The door is wide open, and rain is rushing into the house. I can feel it wrap around my feet, like a snake. The fear that's tempting my heart is burning into my soul and I'm crying, but I don't even dare to open my mouth.

I slowly nod, not daring to even open my mouth as Cal nods and takes a few steps towards me. His hand is open, just waiting for me to take it.

Like how I took his hand to save his Father. Now he's threatening to take my own Mother.

I was so close. Maybe if I ran faster, maybe if I spoke louder, maybe if I just never existed, none of this would have even happened.

I take his hand.

And it was then, when a sudden scream rings out. I instantly turn my head to see my Mother, her body collasping. Her hands are trembling, a horrible, putrid sob leaves his throat. My eyes are watering as I rush up to her, sure that she's been stabbed and I've been tricked. How could I have even trusted one of these... these monsters.

Cal's grip tightens around my hand even though I'm struggling against his wretched hold. But I'm still able to see her neck. There is no blood wound. There is no sign of injury.

So what is wrong with her.

Then, suddenly, she speaks, her words slipping from her lips as I strain to hear her against the rocking sound of the rain banging against the hardwood floors.

"I-I'm sorry, C-Cassie." My Mother whispers, her voice barely audible over another cry of the sky, as if it too, is sad for her. "I-I n-n-never to-to-told yo-you-" She starts when she lets out another scream that sounds more animal than human.

The sound is barely out of her vocal cords when she falls, as limp as a stick. At first, I'm just standing there, uncertain that that just happened. My hands are shaking, and Cal is still holding onto one of them. His burning hot hand is pressed against my own, and my chest is shaking like no tomorrow when I hear a voice.

"Come, Cal." She says, her entire voice resembling a snake. I want to scream when I hear it, but I can't. Not because she's controlling me, no, Elara isn't in my head. I'm just in shock, I'm just in a terrible trance. I'm just wondering how a human being could be so horrible.

But the answer is as simple as day. She is not a Silver nor a Red nor a human. She is something worse than all of that.

She is a monster.

"Let's go home."

&^%

 **D-D-Did I just UPDATE?**

 **I know, I'm actually more surprised than you about it. Trust me, I spent so long deciding on this chapter. I was fist bumping myself when I was finally done and actually fell in love with the cliff hanger.**

 **... Yes, I am that lame.**

 **Aaaaanyways, thanks for actually sticking around this far. I don't really know why, but thanks! You really do boost up my self-esteem everyday.**

 **Also, by the way, I have some bad news. Updates will be *gasp* even more less frequent.**

 **Please don't kill me.**

 **I know, I know. I hardly even update this story once a decade, and you have to wait even longer. Please, please, please, understand that I have tons of homework sitting on my table and that Fanfiction is not my life. Actually, scratch that, it is my life, but I also need to balence it with school.**

 **But, what really inspired me to get this done was the reviews. Thank you so much, and please remember to review. Getting those emails that someone actually reviewed always gets me motivated.**

 **Wait... you're still reading this? Wow... am I truly that interesting?**

 **Annnnnnnnnnnnnyways, thank you so much for reading.**

 **Review. Follow. Favourite. Share.**

 **Emily**


	21. Chapter 21

**Cassandra**

I'm silent on the ride home, my legs tucked up to my chest and my hair in waves over my face. I hold my legs with my arms, and I try not to show my hands to let the world see that they're shaking.

The world in front of me is decorated within slits, my golden hair covering the majority of my eyes.

For a moment, I feel nothing.

And the next my fists are clenched. My jaw is set. I want to destroy the world.

And then it all comes clashing down. It's useless, I'm trying to avoid the inevitable.

It's like dropping a brick from the first floor or the millionth. All you're trying to do is get more time, but it's useless. It's all useless, and that's the truth.

I feel everything. Every twitch of sadness, every cry of anger. I want to murder the Queen. I want to destroy Cal. I want to tear apart Mare. I want to die.

I want to cut my damn hair.

When we get back to the Hall of Fire, I walk straight to my room and scavenge through my drawers to find something, anything, that would make me feel better. When I find a sharp, silver blade that I stole from a battle between Mare and Evangeline.

It feels foreign against my fingers, but I quickly get used to the coldness of the blade and walk over to a mirror. I don't look like me, I'm not me. My hair is too pretty, my eyes are too pure, my clothes are too fancy. This isn't me.

My hand doesn't even shake as I grab a locket of my golden locks and slice it right off so that it's only up to my shoulders. I do that for the rest of my hair until my hair looked as sharp as a razor. Not good enough.

I grab another fistful of hair and raise my blade to cut it even shorter when I hear a voice.

"Cutting your hair won't fix anything." I hear and turn around to see Julian standing there, his eyes bright and full of something that I don't recognize.

"You can't stop me." I whisper softly and raise the blade. "Nobody can stop me."

"Please stop this." Julian continues, but he makes no move to stop me as I only scoff at him.

"Do you know what I am to this world?" I whisper softly. "I am a weapon. I am nothing more than a curse. They would kill me, they are going to kill me, just like how they did to my Mother. They're going to kill all of us!" I scream as I throw the stupid dagger to the ground and let out a pathetic sob.

"Please don't cry." Julian whispers and walks up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder as my body shakes so violently, I'm worried that I'm having a seizure. I don't even remember how to heal that anymore. I don't know anything. "You look so much like her when you cry."

I let out yet another sob and press my face against Julian's soft, beautiful clothes. I cry for myself, loathing in a sea of self pity as I shake my head again and again. I don't want him to think of me as his sister. I don't want anyone to think of me as anyone but me and me myself.

But who am I anymore?

&^%

The ballroom is empty and horrible gloomy, and it doesn't help that my dress hurts my back and squeezes my waist much too tightly. The Princes are standing by their betrothed, and then there's me, sipping some wine without anyone else noticing. Sometimes, I wonder if they can notice me, but just don't care. I don't know which is worse anymore.

I casually take a gulp of red wine, trying not to dribble any on my house colours. I let out a sharp exhale before stumbling backwards and observing the crowd before me and doing the thing I've been doing best now a days. Observing.

Cal's face looks too forced, his smile is creased into his face, his hair is too glossy. Maven is sweating, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure that the Prince of Flames doesn't think that it's very cold. Mare is talking too much, and she's always whispering into Maven's ear with a frown on her face. The only person who seems to be enjoying themself, seems to be Evangeline. I envy her for that.

Perhaps we're all wearing masks, just some of us wear them better than others.

I think faintly about Maven and Mare in the Guard. The incident really didn't bloom in on me until now, and now that I think about it, why did they trust me? Why did they believe that I would join the Guard in the first place?

As I continue to watch them talk and dance, they're smiles pasted on their faces as if it was with glue, and they're movements rigid and not at all graceful, I can't help but notice that Mare is shaking and Maven keeps on looking at me. The world seems to spin as I slowly begin to put two and two together.

 _They didn't plan on me joining the Guard._

And in that moment, eternity and a moment passed. In that moment, I've realized that never in my entire life have I been so tuned in with my surroundings. For the first time, the shackles over my wrists feel much too heavy to be a reality. The veins in my arms stand out as I fumble with my wrists, suddenly more desperate than I have been in weeks to get these stupid, stone bricks off of my hands. I know what's going to happen, it's so clear.

 _How did the Queen know I escaped? How did anyone know I escaped?_

The answer was in front of me this entire time.

The enemy was in front of me, this entire time.

And it was then, when the lights came out.

And a piercing pain tore through my stomach.

&^%

 **Miracles do happen, people. And this time, this miracle has grew in the form of an update.**

 **Thank you for LongLiveDreams, for reminding me that people do read this story. Thank you so much, you are my inspiration to write. :)**

 **Luv ya,**

 **Emily**


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